Instagram 'no longer a photo-sharing app', says Adam Mosseri

The social media app will turn its focus towards videos to compete with TikTok and YouTube

Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app says Facebook executive Adam Mosseri. Solen Feyissa / Unsplash

It’s a platform known for showcasing photos but now Instagram boss Adam Mosseri says changes are coming.

“Video is driving an immense amount of growth online for all the major platforms right now and it’s one that I think we need to lean into more,” said Mosseri, the Facebook executive in charge of Instagram. “We are no longer a photo-sharing app.”

Instagram launched in 2010 and was intended to be a platform for people who wanted to post pictures of their everyday lives through their phones. However, over the years, that’s shifted with more influencers and professionals joining the app.

Mosseri said that in its internal research, Instagram’s users told the company the number one reason for using the app was to “be entertained”.

In keeping up with other apps, Instagram has added Reels, Shop and Live over the years. Going forward, Mosseri hinted that Instagram would hand out more recommendations as well as embrace video more broadly to keep up with competitors, such as TikTok and YouTube.

In June, Facebook confirmed it would be testing the option of allowing users to upload content from their desktops.

“We know that many people access Instagram from their computer,” Facebook spokeswoman Christine Pai told Bloomberg. “To improve that experience, we’re now testing the ability to create a Feed post on Instagram with their desktop browser.”

Currently, Instagram users can like, comment and even look through Instagram Stories (provided they are signed into their account) from their desktop but cannot upload content. The original reasoning for this was because Instagram intended the platform to be for people posting pictures of their lives through their phones.

While the feature isn’t available to everyone yet, to see if you have access, just go to Instagram on your web browser and see if there’s a new “plus” icon on the tray on the top right corner.