Instagram head explains why grid layout changed from square to rectangle
Noticed a change in your Instagram profile? The app has rolled out a big change to its look for some users—the grid layout switched from its previous square shape to taller rectangle dimensions.
This has received mixed reactions online, with some users lamenting how it messed up the look of their curated profiles.
"Why is the new Instagram grid update trash[?] My pictures[!] Why are they all stretched what happened to the boxes?" one user on X wrote.
"Years of careful planning and editing to keep my grid neat and aesthetically pleasing and some Meta goon clicks a button and now it looks like a total s**t tip! Why?" another said on Threads.
"My Instagram grid just turned to rectangles instead of squares [and] I'm actually loving it so much," posted one user.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri addressed the feedback and explained why the app switched to a taller grid. He said one mistake with the rollout of the new look was "not giving people enough of a heads up."
"The goal is a simpler, cleaner place that maintains, and even increases, creator control," he wrote.
"We started with the tall grid because most photos and videos that are uploaded to Instagram at this point are vertical and rectangles do a better job showing off those photos and videos," Mosseri added.
The Instagram head then said some changes would be made to make it easier to customize thumbnails.
Highlights, which sit above the grid on a user's profile page, will also see a big update. Instead of the current story-like circles they're housed in, they will be moved to a new tab.
"We're building a tool so you can re-order your entire grid and make it whatever you want," Mosseri said.
The executive also shared that they're planning a new feature allowing users to post directly to their grids and bypass the feed entirely.
"This plan may very well change as we iterate over the next couple months, but I'm hoping sharing our intentions early will help avoid any more harsh updates," Mosseri ended.
On Jan. 20, Instagram announced a new app called Edits for creating and editing videos.
