Although Instagram started its life as a photo sharing application, it was transformed after Facebook’s acquisition. The platform, which first announced stories like Snapchat, then moved TikTok-like short videos to the platform. Now it has been revealed that Meta is playing with Instagram video quality.

Why is Meta changing Instagram video quality?

Actually, Meta does not apply this policy for all Instagram videos. Accordingly, the Instagram algorithm looks at the view rates after your video is published. If your video has been watched a lot, there is no change in the quality of this video.

However, Instagram videos that are watched less and do not get enough reaction lose quality. Although this is not an official policy of Instagram, it is a necessary practice in terms of more economical use of servers.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and Threads, actually confirmed this policy last year. Accordingly, Instagram videos are coded differently according to view rates. At the end of this coding, some videos are compressed more during server backup.

When a speech by Mosseri, in which he mentioned this policy last year, was just spread on Threads, users reacted. Adam Mosseri tried to explain that this policy is not to separate phenomena and normal users. Accordingly, the quality of those who receive less interaction among Instagram videos decreases after a while due to this compression. Instagram videos that receive high response and are watched for a long time continue to maintain their quality.

Although Instagram has invested heavily in videos, it still remains an important photo sharing platform. The platform, which does not have many competitors in this regard, has gained significant power on the video side thanks to the TikTok US ban.

Mosseri did not explain these low viewership criteria. Do you think the decision to lower the quality for low-viewed Instagram videos is correct? We are waiting for your comments and opinions.