‘Stop trying to be TikTok’ Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner tell Instagram
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, two of Instagram`s most-followed celebs recently slammed Instagram and want the Meta-owned social service to stop trying to mimic surging rival TikTok.
Recently, both sisters took to their Instagram handles and shared a picture. Taking to their Instagram stories, a picture that stated, “Make Instagram Instagram Again.” “(stop trying to be tiktok i just want to see cute photos of my friends). Sincerely, Everyone.”
Kim captioned the post, “PRETTY PLEASE.” While Kylie wrote, “PLEASEEEEEE.” At present Instagram has increasingly promoted Reels, its short-form video feature copying the format popularized by TikTok, as per Variety. Who cares what a pair of famous-for-being-famous influencers think? Well, millions of people. Kylie Jenner has more than 360 million followers on Instagram — she`s the No. 2 most-followed account, after football star Cristiano Ronaldo — and Kim Kardashian has over 326 million.
The Change.org petition that the sisters` referenced in their Instagram Stories, which launched July 22, had fewer than 100,000 signatures before the Kardashians threw their support behind it. As of Tuesday morning, it has more than 140,000 signees, according to variety.
The petition, launched four days ago by photographer Tati Bruening (@Illumitati) reads, “We have TikTok for a reason, and let`s face it, the only [Instagram] reels uploaded are recycled TikToks and content that the world has already seen.”
“What`s innovative and unique about old stale content? Nothing!”On Tuesday in a video, perhaps in response to the Kardashians weighing in on the topic, Instagram head Adam Mosseri reiterated that the service will continue prioritizing video, as per Variety.
Mosseri said, “I’m hearing a lot of concerns about right now about photos and how we`re shifting to video.” “Now, I want to be clear, we`re gonna continue to support photos. It`s part of our heritage.”
“That said, I need to be honest: I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time. We see this even if we do nothing… So we’re gonna have to lean into that shift,” he continued. Mosseri also addressed concerns over Instagram`s test of a full-screen version of users’ feed. He said the test is available only to a “few percentage” of Instagram users and that it still needs work: “It`s not yet good.”