Instagram revolutionises its feed: from square to vertical

Instagram is reinventing itself and leaving behind the classic square grid. The platform has begun testing a new rectangular format in the profile grid for some select users, as announced by Adam Mosseri, head of the social network, through his stories. This change responds to the evolution in the way content is created and consumed on the app, where the vertical dominates.

Mosseri was clear in explaining the rationale: ‘Squares are from a bygone era, when you could only upload square photos on Instagram…. Today, most of what is posted is vertical: 4:3 in photos or 9:16 in videos. Cutting that down to a square is pretty aggressive’.

Portrait is no stranger to the platform. It’s already on the videos/reels tab, so this change to the photo grid promises to aesthetically unify the profile. On Threads, an image was leaked that shows how the new interface mirrors the current vertical layout of videos.

Although Instagram has been exploring this update since 2022, it has only now begun to open it up to more users. However, the future of the feature will depend on the community’s response. According to Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai, ‘We are testing a vertical profile grid with a small group of people. This is a limited test and we will take feedback into account before expanding it.’

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