Instagram to Begin an Algorithmic Timeline Test Similar to Facebook

Instagram is making a huge change to how you will view photos and videos. Instagram will begin testing an algorithmic timeline over the coming months, changing the chemistry of its longtime reverse chronological stream of photos and videos, its co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger revealed in an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday.

"The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you will be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post," Instagram explained in a blog post. "As we begin, we are focusing on optimizing the order -- all the posts will still be there, just in a different order."

The move is similar to how its parent company Facebook displays content, pushed to users based on what the algorithm thinks users want to view most. "On average, people miss about 70 percent of the posts in their Instagram feed," Systrom told the NYT. "What this is about is making sure that the 30 percent you see is the best 30 percent possible."

Instagram cautioned the change will be gradual and users will have input. It's not clear which users will see the feature first. "We're going to take time to get this right and listen to your feedback along the way. You will see this new experience in the coming months." Likely in preparation for the new timeline, Instagram rolled out timestamps for photo and video posts earlier this month.