Instagram introduced an update Thursday morning that forced users to tap or swipe horizontally to view their feeds. But it was apparently a false alarm! After swift backlash, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, quickly tweeted a series of apologies.
“Sorry about that, this was supposed to be a very small test but we went broader than we anticipated,” he wrote in one reply.
An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch, “Due to a bug, some users saw a change to the way their feed appears today. We quickly fixed the issue and feed is back to normal. We apologize for any confusion.” The outlet also reported that Instagram is still testing the new navigation style in Explore.
To many users’ relief, the horizontal scroll reverted to vertical within minutes.
The outcry against the unannounced change had been immediate: Why ruin the holidays with a surprise update equivalent to a sack of coal? What was up with all the white space surrounding each post? How would people stalk their exes now that the update made it so much easier to accidentally double-tap a photo?
So, as we collectively do when one app frustrates us, we vented on another: Twitter. Furious tweets flooded the platform, and three Instagram-related topics made it to the national trending list.
Instagram did not immediately return The Washington Post’s request for comment.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.