Changes
415 times Instagram's guidance changed, newest first. Each shows what was said before, and what replaced it.
2025
EffectsJun 2025
The experimental AI video transformations became a launching tool called Restyle, initially limited to presets with custom prompting planned for later.
Before
I’m super excited about Movie Gen, our early AI research model that will let you change nearly any aspect of your videos with a simple text prompt.“We're working on some really exciting AI tools for you video creators out there. A lot of you make amazing content that makes Instagram what it is, and we want to give you more tools to help realize your ideas.”
After
Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways.“This week we're launching Restyle, which is an AI tool to edit videos like this one, and it's going to be in edits in the Meta AI app and in Instagram over time, and allows you to do all sorts of interesting things.”
VideoJun 2025
The planned AI video-editing tools have progressed to Restyle launching in Edits, with Instagram support still coming and only preset styles available initially.
Before
I’m super excited about Movie Gen, our early AI research model that will let you change nearly any aspect of your videos with a simple text prompt.“We're working on some really exciting AI tools for you video creators out there. A lot of you make amazing content that makes Instagram what it is, and we want to give you more tools to help realize your ideas.”
After
Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways.“Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways. It’s early days, and we’re starting with a finite set of presets before we support open prompting, but it’s exciting and I can’t wait to see how creatives use the tool.”
VideoJun 2025
The vision of asking for arbitrary video changes is narrowed for the initial Restyle release to preset styles, with open prompting planned for later.
Before
Fit check with @mosseri (Head of Instagram) before the Metgala Red carpet !“You could edit it there. Maybe you can do your outfit. You excited about your fit, but you want to change the background. You could say put me in Paris, put me in Berlin, put me in New York City.”
After
Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways.“Announcing Restyle, an AI tool built into Edits, and soon Instagram, that allows you to style your videos in all sorts of ways. It’s early days, and we’re starting with a finite set of presets before we support open prompting, but it’s exciting and I can’t wait to see how creatives use the tool.”
FeedMay 2025
The qualified promise of top placement became a statement that Favorites content appears at the top of the feed whenever those accounts post.
Before
Hidden Gems - Controls“favorites feed. Then your favorites feed is the feed of posts or photos and videos from accounts that you decide to favorite. When you favorite someone, they are not notified of you. When you favorite them, again they are not notified.”
After
If you have a set of accounts you want to make sure you see absolutely everything from, you should use “favorites.”“If you have a set of accounts you want to make sure you see absolutely everything from, you should use “favorites.” You can add anyone to your Favorites list–just go to their profile and tap the Following button.”
VideoApr 2025
The phone-based video creation app previewed in January has now launched as Edits.
Before
Today we’re announcing a new app called “Edits” for those of you who are passionate about making videos on your phone.“videos on your phone. It's not for people who are using desktop apps, it's not people looking for templates, it's for people who use their phone to make short form videos. There's going to be a dedicated tab for inspiration and trending audio for you to get ideas.”
After
Excited to officially introduce Edits - a new app for making great videos on your phone.“Edits is here. Edits is our new app for those of you who are passionate about making videos on your phone. If you use powerful desktop tools, it might not be for you. If you're just posting videos of your life, it might not be for you.”
ReelsApr 2025
Edits moved from an upcoming short-form video creation app to one people could download and try.
Before
Finding success on reels in 2025“Creativity is what makes reels so much fun to watch and create. Over the past year, we’ve made improvements to help you bring your ideas to life and express yourself in even more ways. - Get creative with Edits (coming soon).”
After
Excited to officially introduce Edits - a new app for making great videos on your phone.“extract a video or piece of a video from a longer video, which is pretty wild to see. There's some new movie generation AI tools coming later this year. There is an inspiration tab where you can see reels with trending audio and hopefully get ideas for what you might want to create.”
Teen safetyApr 2025
Instagram began testing proactive placement into protective teen settings based on AI age estimates, even when an account lists an adult birthday.
Before
Introducing New Ways to Verify Age on Instagram“ensure people’s privacy. In 2019, we began asking people to provide their age when signing up for Instagram. Since then, we’ve made this a requirement. Knowing people’s age allows us to provide appropriate experiences to different age groups, specifically teens.”
After
Working With Parents and New Technology to Enroll More Teens Into Teen Accounts“Parents are busy and don’t always have the time to review these settings. That’s why we’re continuing to take additional steps to ensure as many teens as possible are in Teen Account settings. Today, we’re beginning to test AI technology in the US that is designed to proactively find accounts we suspect belong to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday, and place them in Teen Account settings.”
Personalized recommendationsApr 2025
Blend extended personalized Reels recommendations to an opt-in shared feed combining what friends may like.
Before
This week we added tabs for Reels and Shop given how important video and shopping are to Instagram, and how much we’ve seen both grow, particularly this year.“because both for reels and for shopping, we try to personalize the experiences so that they are interesting to each and every person because everyone gets their own interests. So I ask that you try them out, that you give us some time because we're going to continue to work on these experiences and make them better.”
After
We’re introducing Blend as a new way to connect with your friends in DMs.“We’re introducing Blend as a new way to connect with your friends in DMs. Blend is a shared feed of Reels that combines recommendations you and your friends may like. To start a blend with a friend or group of friends, go to a DM and click the Blend icon.”
Teen safetyApr 2025
The planned protection against inappropriate images in messages became a nudity-blurring feature that teens under 16 would need parental permission to disable.
Before
Introducing Stricter Message Settings for Teens on Instagram and Facebook“their message settings. We’re also making these changes to teens’ default settings on Messenger, where under 16s (or under 18 in certain countries) will only receive messages from Facebook friends, or people they’re connected to through phone contacts, for example.”
After
We’re Introducing New Built-In Restrictions for Instagram Teen Accounts, and Expanding to Facebook and Messenger“We know parents are worried about strangers contacting their teens – or teens receiving unwanted contact. In addition to the existing built-in protections offered by Teen Accounts, we’re adding new restrictions for Instagram Live and unwanted images in DMs.”
Bullying and harassmentMar 2025
Instagram added a dedicated school reporting route for potential teen safety issues, including bullying, through a pilot open to all US middle and high schools.
Before
#SaferInternetDay“When you post something that goes against our Community Guidelines it will appear in your Account Status. To access Account Status go to your Profile and tap the menu in the upper right corner, next tap “Settings” then tap “Account” then tap “Account Status.””
After
Partnering Directly With Schools and Teachers to Address Bullying“We recently introduced Instagram Teen Accounts, a new experience for teens, guided by parents. Teen Accounts were designed to give parents peace of mind that their teens are having safe, age-appropriate experiences on Instagram, with built-in protections turned on automatically.”
Collab postsMar 2025Reversed
Recipients can now hide an accepted Collab Reel from their main grid while keeping it in their Reels grid, which was previously described as unavailable.
Before
Comedy creator @ezee recently sat down with Head of Instagram @mosseri to discuss her journey and the importance of bringing your community along from the beginning.“One thing I changed about Instagram, I didn't do about it. Whenever you collaborate with somebody, you're able to change either the thumbnail or move it over in the real section. You know what I'm saying?”
After
AMA: can I have a collab reel go only to my reels grid and not to my main grid?“So the question here is: When you do a collab post, can you have it show up only in your reels grid and not on your main grid? And the answer is yes. If you are the initiator of the collaboration, you have an audience option when you're posting, and you can decide to have it just go to your reels grid and not your main grid.”
ReelsFeb 2025
The recommendation changes intended to help creators of all sizes were now fully launched, with new reels initially shown to a small non-follower audience.
Before
Smaller creators historically haven’t gotten their fair share of reach on Instagram, and we want to change that.“Historically, if I'm honest, I don't think Instagram has been good enough by small creators out there. Now we've got tens of millions of small creators, which is amazing, but in general, I think too much reach goes to the largest creators and not enough goes to little guys.”
After
Helping creators of all sizes break through“We’ve been working hard to improve how reels are ranked and recommended on Instagram. Our goal is simple: serve the right reels to the right people at the right time. In April 2024, we announced initial updates to how we recommend reels, giving creators of all sizes a way to break through and be seen by new audiences.”
Watch timeFeb 2025
The watch-time ranking explanation is refined to clarify that Instagram considers both seconds watched and percentage watched so longer videos are not penalized simply for lower completion percentages.
Before
I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform.“Now for both, the most important signals are the same three: they are how much of a video we think someone is going to watch, and whether or not we think they're going to like that video or they're going to actually send that video to a friend.”
After
AMA: do longer reels get penalized as people watch a shorter percentage of them?“This is a question about watch time percentage and whether not longer videos are going to get penalized because you're going to watch a smaller percentage of the video. And we get that and we don't want to penalize longer videos, which is why we look at not only the percentage of video that is watched, but also just the number of seconds.”
ReachFeb 2025
Advice for evaluating trial reels now specifies comparing them with other trials at similar ages, waiting a few hours, and checking sends, likes, and watch time rather than comparing their reach with normal reels.
Before
AMA: how does engagement work on trial reels?“Here's the question about trial reels and what happens to your engagement. So the way it works is when you post a trial reel, it will show up in feeds and reels tabs for people who do not follow you yet.”
After
The best way to know how a trial reel is doing is to compare it to other trial reels.“How to get a sense for how your trial reel is doing. Now a reminder: trial reels allow you to post a reel just to non-followers, and then decide based on how they're doing whether or not you want to upgrade them to your followers and to your profile.”
Trial ReelsFeb 2025
Performance guidance was refined to recommend comparing trial reels with other trial reels, rather than normal reels shown to followers from the start.
Before
AMA: how does engagement work on trial reels?“Here's the question about trial reels and what happens to your engagement. So the way it works is when you post a trial reel, it will show up in feeds and reels tabs for people who do not follow you yet.”
After
The best way to know how a trial reel is doing is to compare it to other trial reels.“The best way to know how a trial reel is doing is to compare it to other trial reels. Trial reels won’t perform like normal reels that are shown to followers from the beginning, so comparing them against each other over time will help you understand what performs well.”
SendsFeb 2025
The recommended top metrics for understanding reach shifted from views, reach and sends to average watch time, like rate and send rate.
Before
We’re making an update within insights to make “Views” the primary metric for Reels, Stories, photos and carousels.“I wanted to give you a quick heads up about a change coming to Insights on Instagram. Now for a long time now you've been able to see how many plays a reel gets, and we're going to evolve that forward and make it consistent across all types of content.”
After
If you’re trying to optimize for reach, the metrics you should pay the most attention to are average watch time (for reels), like rate (likes per people reached) and send rate (sends per people reached).“These are the three metrics you should pay the most attention to if you're optimizing for reach. I want to be clear: you need to be you and be authentic. Don't just care about reach, but obviously you want to create content that's going to reach more people.”
Teen safetyFeb 2025
Time-management protections expand beyond an hour-use reminder to parent-set daily limits and scheduled periods when teens cannot access Instagram.
Before
GMA EXCLUSIVE: @Instagram CEO @mosseri talks about the app's new "Teen Accounts" experience, which is aimed at users under 18.“This new experience—it's called Teen Accounts. Where people under 18—they're automatically placed into these accounts—and users under 16—they're going to need their parents' permission to change any of these settings. So tell us how does this work?”
After
Introducing Teen Accounts in India on Instagram“For teens under 16, any changes to make settings less restrictive will require parental approval. Parents can also enable supervision for older teens (16+) at any time, allowing them to review and approve changes to their teen’s safety settings.”
Sensitive contentFeb 2025
The newer guidance adds that users under 16 need parental approval to make their default Teen Account protections, including sensitive content settings, less restrictive.
Before
Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents“We recognize parents are concerned that their teens might see mature or inappropriate content online, which is why we have stricter rules around the kinds of content teens see on our apps. We remove content that breaks our rules and avoid recommending potentially sensitive content – such as sexually suggestive content or content discussing suicide or self-harm.”
After
Introducing Teen Accounts in India on Instagram“The Teen Account protections are specifically designed to tackle key concerns parents have, such as who their teens interact with online, the type of content they are exposed to, and how they manage their time on the platform.”
Original contentFeb 2025
Instagram added that it notifies original creators when it detects reposts and clarified that replacement may not work for modified copies or originals never posted on Instagram.
Before
Announcing some changes to further reward original content on Instagram:“Announcing some changes to further reward original content on Instagram: - First, when we find reposted content in recommendations, we will replace it with the original. We’ll also add a label to the repost linking back to the original, which will remain visible to the reposter’s followers.”
After
AMA: can you notify me when someone reposts one of my reels?“So we want Instagram to be a great place for original content creators. So when we do detect, and we don't always catch, but when we do detect that someone is reposting your content, you're real.”
StoriesJan 2025
The newer ranking explanation identifies predicted taps, likes and replies as the most important signals, refining the earlier account-history and closeness guidance.
Before
Instagram Ranking Explained“Stories are a way to share everyday moments and grow closer to the people and interests you care about. The stories you see are from people you’ve chosen to follow, as well as ads. Similar to Feed, when we look at ranking stories we start by defining all of the potential stories – excluding advertisements – shared by accounts you follow, and remove any stories that violate our Community Standards.”
After
Talking about Stories for the third video in a series explaining ranking on Instagram.“This is the third in a short series of videos about how ranking works on Instagram, and on this one I wanted to focus on stories. Now to start, I want to be clear that for almost every creator out there, you're gonna reach more people if you post a feed than if you post a stories, and that's because stories is designed to really connect people with others that they know in real life, their friends.”
PhotosJan 2025
Audio shifted from an optional engagement experiment to a stated requirement for recommendation eligibility, particularly for photos and carousels.
Before
Creator Tips & Tricks“If you're a photographer or you're creative and the primary way that you express yourself is through still photographs, great, please post photos. Contrary to common belief, lots of people consume lots of photos on Instagram.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“It's the second in a short series of videos about how ranking works on Instagram, and this one's focused on recommendations and how to have your content show up. Now, if you don't know recommendations are when you see a piece of content from an account you have not decided to follow yet, and they're an increasingly important part of Instagram and they're how we're growing the overall pie and trying to drive as much reach to as many creators as possible.”
PhotosJan 2025
Adding audio was presented as a recommendation-eligibility criterion rather than simply advice to improve engagement.
Before
I always recommend using audio on Reels, photos and carousels.“I always recommend using audio on Reels, photos and carousels. It can help with engagement and, with Reels specifically, it means you can show up on audio pages where a lot of people go for inspiration.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“It's the second in a short series of videos about how ranking works on Instagram, and this one's focused on recommendations and how to have your content show up. Now, if you don't know recommendations are when you see a piece of content from an account you have not decided to follow yet, and they're an increasingly important part of Instagram and they're how we're growing the overall pie and trying to drive as much reach to as many creators as possible.”
PhotosJan 2025
The audio guidance expanded from enabling Reels-tab placement to being a stated criterion for recommendations to non-followers.
Before
Carousels often get more reach than single photo posts for two main reasons.“Carousels often get more reach than single photo posts for two main reasons. Also, quick plug: using music on carousels and photos now makes them eligible to be shown in the reels tab, which can also help with reach.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“It's the second in a short series of videos about how ranking works on Instagram, and this one's focused on recommendations and how to have your content show up. Now, if you don't know recommendations are when you see a piece of content from an account you have not decided to follow yet, and they're an increasingly important part of Instagram and they're how we're growing the overall pie and trying to drive as much reach to as many creators as possible.”
Content recommendationsJan 2025
Recommendation advice expanded beyond original, engaging reels to include audio for photos and carousels, no watermarks, and videos no longer than three minutes.
Before
What Creators Need To Know About Instagram Recommendations“1. Post original content: This includes content you filmed yourself or content that hasn’t been posted on Instagram before. Avoid reuploading reels that are already on Instagram or posting unoriginal or aggregated content. If you see a reel you think your followers would love, you can share it to your Story by using the share button.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram. The best way to maximize your reach is to have your content show up to people who don’t yet follow you in recommendations, which are an increasingly important part of the app.”
Recommendation eligibilityJan 2025
The eligibility checklist adds watermark, audio and three-minute video guidance alongside the earlier advice to post original content.
Before
Recommendations“of a few key things you need to know about recommendations. First is we do have recommendation guidelines. This is guidance for what we try and recommend and what we try to avoid recommending. And it is different than our community guidelines, which are rules for what can and cannot be on Instagram at all.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram. The best way to maximize your reach is to have your content show up to people who don’t yet follow you in recommendations, which are an increasingly important part of the app.”
Recommendation eligibilityJan 2025Reversed
The newer checklist says no watermarks, whereas the earlier advice explicitly allowed a creator’s own logo.
Before
AMA: is it OK to watermark a reel with my own logo?“Simply create asks, "If you watermark a reel with your own logo, will that affect its reach?" And the answer is no. That's actually good to go. What we try to do is not recommend reels with logos from other apps, but if it's your own logo, don't worry about it.”
After
This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram.“This is the second video in a short series where I’m breaking down key things to know about ranking on Instagram. The best way to maximize your reach is to have your content show up to people who don’t yet follow you in recommendations, which are an increasingly important part of the app.”
LikesJan 2025
The advice moved from tracking likes per post to likes per person reached, with likes weighted more for connected content and sends more for unconnected content.
Before
Quick thought: Engagement rates are more important than follower counts.“Quick thought, the engagement rate on your content is more important than your follower count. Now it's not that your follower count is important, it is important. It'll definitely correlate with reach. The more followers you have, the more reach you're gonna get on average.”
After
I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform.“Now for both, the most important signals are the same three: they are how much of a video we think someone is going to watch, and whether or not we think they're going to like that video or they're going to actually send that video to a friend.”
Watch timeJan 2025
Watch time moves from a general performance diagnostic to an explicitly prioritized ranking signal, with average watch time recommended for comparing reel performance.
Before
New Features on Instagram Reels: Trends, Editing and Gifts“We’re improving Reels insights to help you better understand how your content is performing. We’re adding two new metrics: total watch time and average watch time – and making it easier to see your insights while viewing your reels directly.”
After
I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform.“Now for both, the most important signals are the same three: they are how much of a video we think someone is going to watch, and whether or not we think they're going to like that video or they're going to actually send that video to a friend.”
Content rankingJan 2025
The advice to focus on sends per reach is refined to track watch time and likes too, with likes more important for connected reach and sends more important for unconnected reach.
Before
Send this to a fellow creator.“People ask a lot about the algorithms, yeah. But one of the most important things to look at if you're trying to evaluate how your videos or anything is doing on Instagram, is definitely the sends.”
After
I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform.“I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform. At a high level, there are two types of ranking on Instagram: - Connected reach (accounts that follow you) - Unconnected reach (accounts that don’t yet follow you) For both, the top three signals that matter most for ranking are watch time, likes and sends.”
Content rankingJan 2025
The general advice that sends drive ranking is refined by distinguishing follower reach, where likes matter more, from non-follower reach, where sends matter more.
Before
When you’re creating content, think about creating something that people would want to send to a friend.“When you’re creating content, think about creating something that people would want to send to a friend. Don’t force it, but sends are one of the biggest signals we use in ranking and can help your reach over time.”
After
I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform.“I’m going to break down how ranking works on Instagram in a series of videos in a way that hopefully helps creators best leverage the platform. At a high level, there are two types of ranking on Instagram: - Connected reach (accounts that follow you) - Unconnected reach (accounts that don’t yet follow you) For both, the top three signals that matter most for ranking are watch time, likes and sends.”