Instagram removes ability to see others’ likes, comments, and follows from Activity tab

Instagram is removing a controversial feature that had been in place since 2011, the Following tab in the Activity feed. Now the feed will focus on your own activity.

Reported by BuzzFeed, the Following tab in the Activity feed was introduced back in 2011, that’s before Instagram created its Explore feature.

Over the years, the feature has created a lot of controversies since many users weren’t aware that what their likes, comments, and follows was seen by those that follow them in the Following tab of the Activity feed.

A dramatic problem 😉…:
"Instagram should really remove the Following tab. It really hurts when someone close is ignoring you but they are busy liking and following other people," said one user.

— Dirk M 🌎 🌍 🌏 🇺🇦 (@DirkMarienfeld) September 29, 2019

BuzzFeed noted a few more scenarios the not so well-known feature created some tricky situations:

A man receives a DM from his ex wondering why he’s liking photos of someone who gave her gonorrhea. A mother notices the husband of a fellow mom liking bikini model photos. A daughter catches her own father liking cheesecake pinup photos.

Instagram’s head of product, Vishal Shah told BuzzFeed confirmed why Instagram is removing the feature…

“People didn’t always know that their activity is surfacing,” Shah said. “So you have a case where it’s not serving the use case you built if for, but it’s also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up.”

Along with that, Shah said “simplicity was the driving factor.”

If you haven’t seen the feature leave yet, Instagram says the change will be rolling out over the course of this week.

Instagram is a free download for iPhone from the App Store.

Comparison via BuzzFeed