Instagram just got rid of its most stalker-friendly feature, the “following” tab
What used to be a sneaky tool used for stalking the photos your ex was still liking and what celebrities were flirting through sly comments on each others’ posts has reportedly become obsolete. The “Following” activity tab, which shows the likes, comments, and follows of your friends, is officially being retired by Instagram.
When we first downloaded the Instagram app, all those many years ago, the “Following” tab was a fun way to occasionally see what friends were most active on the platform, updating us in real-time that someone had just gone on a 15-photo liking spree. But now, with most of us following hundreds—if not thousands—of accounts, who has time to sort through a page of other peoples’ activity?
Apparently, no one; Instagram’s head of product told Buzzfeed News that many users didn’t even know the feature existed. In order to maintain the simplicity of the app, you’ll now only be able to see your own like and follow activity via that little heart icon page. So it’s bye-bye to stalking what other people are up to.
The following tab is gone so instagram is uselesss to my crazy ass now
— Leslie Micek (@lesmicek) September 5, 2019
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram wrote on Twitter:
"Today we're removing the 'Following' tab on Instagram, which was created to help people discover new posts and accounts their friends engage with. We're always trying to stay focused and keep Instagram simple, and so we celebrate launches and 'unshipping.''
This comes just days after Instagram announced it would be rolling out an anti-bullying feature, so the platform seems to be committed to doing good for its billions of loyal users.
We can’t say we won’t miss the way the tool revealed news about juicy celebrity relationships, but the ability to see the every move of the people you’re following does seem a bit unnecessary. Plus, it goes both ways, so now others won’t be able to follow the full play-by-play of your activity.
From here on out, it will just take a little more sleuthing to find out which photos the cast of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have been liking, or which latest trendy influencer your girlfriend has just started following. But hey, if Beyoncé can follow zero people and just focus on her own beautiful Instagram content, we guess we can, too.