Instagram changes from a square grid format to a rectangle grid format. Instagram is slowly releasing updates to change the layout of the app. Graphic Illustration by Uma Nambiar.

As Instagram users were ritualistically scrolling through their feeds Jan. 17, they underwent a shock: The app’s layout was completely different.

Instagram underwent a new update Jan. 17. Adam Mosseri, the current CEO of Instagram, posted an Instagram Reel Jan. 19 explaining the new changes. In his caption, which he called a “profile roadmap,” Mosseri wrote about all of the new profile updates and his hopes for future updates.

According to Mosseri, instead of a square grid format, there is now a rectangle format for people’s profiles. Pictures are elongated, the bios under people’s names are shifted to the top and the “following” and “followers” labels shifted to the left. Mosseri continued to share more about the updates in more detail.

“The goal is a simpler, cleaner place that maintains, and even increases, creator control. 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 wrote in the reel’s caption. “We’re also looking to move highlights into the grid and add them as a tab. Highlights are a great way to showcase your favorite stories, but they are visually complicated and push your grid down. In order to maintain creator control we’re building a tool so you can re-order your entire grid and make it whatever you want.”

Among the Archer community, students have mixed opinions about the newest Instagram update. Senior Kate Hanney said she does not love the way her feed looks now.

“I think the old version was much better. You could see the whole photo before just by scrolling through someone’s feed, but now everything looks cut off and a little odd,” Hanney said. “I am not looking forward to new updates because I feel like they are never necessary and make the app look uglier.”

Senior Isabella Veckerelli is a frequent Instagram user and said initially it took her a while to adjust to the update, but now it feels more normal.

“At first, I thought it was really weird and uncomfortable. I didn’t like how my name was moved to the top of my profile. And then the pictures being rectangles instead of squares felt really weird,” Veckerelli said. “But I like it more now. It’s more like a camera roll versus a very curated square grid. It seems more candid.”

Similarly to Veckerelli and Hanney, Lili Franks (’25) said she was disappointed with how the new layout of her profile looks. However, she said she was not as bothered as Hanney with the new change.

“I did not notice this particular update that much, but in general, I am not excited for future updates. I feel like I am always disappointed with social media updates surrounding app appearance because I never hear people complain in the first place,” Franks said. “I wish the app had stayed the same.”

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center  reported that 59% of 13-17 year-olds use Instagram. Senior Zara Khan said she believes many teens have an obsession with maintaining a perfectly curated feed, which is why they are upset by the Instagram update.

“This current obsession is not coming from an internal place, but rather from external pressure that society has put on us,” Khan said. “Having a put-together profile elevates our social status, and it makes our lives seem cooler.”