Looks like you’re no longer going to be able to see your followers’ late night thirst traps. Starting this week, Instagram is going to be removing the Following activity tab, which means the heart tab is set to only display your own activity.
RIP to the creepiest part of Instagram https://t.co/pElUH7WBAv
— kate conger (@kateconger) October 7, 2019
The Following tab was launched as a feature in 2011, way before the Explore tab. While the Following tab once served as the best way to discover new content, the Explore tab has taken over the discovery domain of Instagram.
when hasnt the instagram "following" tab ended in heartbreak
— ?????? ?????? (@333333333433333) November 25, 2016
When speaking to Buzzfeed News, Instagram’s head of product Vishal Shah explained that the Following tab wasn’t frequently used. “People didn’t always know that their activity was surfacing,” Shah explained. “So you have a case where it’s not serving the use case you built it for, but it’s also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up.”
Shah also went on to explain that “simplicity was the driving factor” in removing the tab.