There’s huge news in the Instagram world today that a lot of companies aren’t going to like. Just like its parent company, Facebook, Instagram feeds will now only show users what algorithms think they’re interested in.

Here’s why this new change is causing some problems in the Instagram world today.

Missed Posts

If you’re like a lot of Instagram users, you probably follow hundreds of Instagram accounts. Some of those accounts you probably wish you didn’t follow, so you skip past them regularly. Facebook is trying to fix that problem by only showing you the posts that it thinks you want to see. In other words, if the company thinks that you don’t want to see some posts in your feed, you won’t see them - regardless of whether or not you follow that account.

Why It’s a Big Deal

To businesses that use Instagram to spread news or showcase new products, the fact that some posts might not be seen by all followers is a big deal. It means that posts must now be interesting enough for all users to see, and that those users have to have a good relationship with the brand.

What will cause the algorithm to determine what people do and do not want to see remains to be seen, but I’m guessing that you will only see posts by brands that you have commented on before and the like. Just like Facebook, if you heart posts by brands frequently, you’ll probably still see those posts in your feed. The same goes for people you follow, too. This doesn’t solely relate to brands.

The Good Parts

Facebook, Inc. estimates that most Instagram users do not see around 70% of their feed. This is because most feeds are jammed with posts that people do not want to see. This could be why your friends never heart your posts - it’s not that they don’t like what you are posting, it’s that they aren’t seeing what you are posting. In other words, Instagram feeds have become polluted with brands (mostly) that constantly post numerous times per day and cause a lot of noise.

Right now, Instagram posts are also time-based, but that might change with the new algorithm. In order to sort and sift through posts, the posts you see in the future through Instagram might be late or old posts. This could defeat the entire purpose of Instagram. Then again, it could also just mean that you will now start seeing the things your friends posts and not just the millions of ads posted by the one company you started to follow a few years ago.

Bringing Popularity Back

Instagram is also starting to be less popular partly due to the fact that people only see company posts. If Facebook, Inc. can fix this issue, the social site might become more popular once again. Right now, a lot of Instagram users are tired of flipping through the app without really seeing anything useful or interesting. All of these changes are expected to happen immediately.