Instagram, like a lot of other social media platforms, relies on an algorithmic feed. This means that it tries to understand the posts you might be the most interested in and pushes it to the top so that you will always see it. This is versus the past where it used a time-based way of sorting posts, pushing the most recent to the top.
However, according to mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, it seems that Instagram could be testing another way for users to manage their feed. This comes in the form of allowing users to “favorite” other users. According to Instagram’s description, posts from favorites are shown higher in the feed, although we’re not sure if this will always take precedence over the algorithm or if the algorithm will still be the main driving force behind your feed.
https://twitter.com/alex193a/status/1435919581277609989
However, the use of the pin icon suggests that profiles that are saved as favorites will kind of be like you pinning them to the top, so maybe they will take precedence over the algorithm. This might be useful if you happen to follow a lot of people but still want to make sure that those who are close to you, like personal friends and family members, will have a higher priority.
This isn’t the first time Instagram is trying to let users create lists. Prior to this, Instagram gave users the option of creating Stories that could also be seen by people that you designate as close friends.
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