Instagram app could open directly to Reels, fueling endless doomscrolling
What's the story
Instagram is testing a major change to its app by making Reels the home tab. The experiment, which is currently opt-in and being conducted in India, will see Reels and Direct Messages (DMs) as the first two tabs on the app. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said that this move comes as both features have driven significant growth for the platform in recent years.
Design changes
New layout will still include photos from followed accounts
The proposed layout for the new home tab would be a mix of familiar and new elements. The top of the tab will have a horizontal list of Stories, but scrolling up will change the layout to something similar to the current Reels tab, with videos taking up most of the screen space. Mosseri confirmed that photos from followed accounts would still be part of this updated home tab design.
Cross-platform consistency
Change already implemented in Instagram's iPad app
Instagram has already implemented this change in its newly-launched iPad app, which opens directly into Reels from the home tab. Meta, Instagram's parent company, said the design was intentional "to reflect how people use bigger screens today - for lean back entertainment." This test shows that Instagram is considering making Reels an even more central part of its main mobile app experience.