--- title: Instagram Swipe Feed December 2018 Update Outrages Internet description: Instagram introduced an update that allows users to "swipe" through their feed and as might be expected, people have feelings about it. canonical: https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-27T16:44:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T15:51:36.000Z og:title: Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App And People Absolutely Hated It og:description: Thank u, next og:url: https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb4dc5ef5776481/6989424ee76ad25fc4633dd9/instagram-sideways-design.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Instagram Sideways Design og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App And People Absolutely Hated It twitter:description: Thank u, next twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb4dc5ef5776481/6989424ee76ad25fc4633dd9/instagram-sideways-design.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:38 video:published: 2015-10-01 section: tech topics: Instagram, first photo, photo filters, app development, Xpro 2 filter, co-founders, social media, product prototyping genre: interview, personal reflection tones: casual, reflective, humorous, candid emotions: nostalgia (medium), amusement (low), pride (low) sentiment: positive audience: tech enthusiasts, Instagram users, startup founders, social media followers people: Kevin Systrom organizations: Instagram products: Instagram, Xpro 2 transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App and People Absolutely Hated It > Sponsored content. 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It covers the reporting, scoops and conversations shaping AI and the decisions facing leaders. #### Where can I get reported AI news rather than commentary? In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=274157cb-a9e8-4326-89fc-f28483bd57da&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The CEO of Instagram on the The App’s First Photo Ever [Watch (HLS stream): The CEO of Instagram on the The App’s First Photo Ever](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upg5cCmb.m3u8) (0:38)  _Published 2015-10-01. Five years ago today on July 16, 2010, Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom took a picture of a dog in Mexico near a taco stand, with a guest appearance by his girlfriend’s foot._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom recalls the first photo he posted on the app, a shot of a dog and a foot taken while he was testing filters. He explains that he was prototyping the app with his co-founder on the side and that the photo was taken with a filter called Xpro 2. He says he would have tried harder had he known the photo would become the first posted on Instagram in its current form. ## Key points - The first photo Systrom posted on Instagram is a prototypical Instagram photo, showing a dog and a foot. (00:00) - Systrom was working on the app on the side with his co-founder while prototyping filters. (00:07) - The first shot was taken with a filter called Xpro 2, which Systrom says still exists in the app. (00:13) - Systrom says he was just testing the filter when he took the photo and did not expect it to become a landmark post. (00:21) - Systrom says that had he known the photo would be the first posted on Instagram as it is today, he would have tried a little harder. (00:24) - Systrom uploaded the photo and says that the rest is history. (00:31) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:07] The prototypical first Instagram photo. Systrom describes his first Instagram photo as a typical example of the app's style, featuring a dog and a foot. - [00:07 to 00:24] Prototyping filters and the Xpro 2 shot. Systrom explains that he was prototyping filters with his co-founder and that the first photo was taken with the Xpro 2 filter. - [00:24 to 00:38] Reflecting on the upload. Systrom reflects that he would have put in more effort had he known the photo would become Instagram's first post, then describes uploading it. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Kevin Systrom: "The first photo I ever posted on Instagram is in some ways the prototypical Instagram photo." - [00:17] Kevin Systrom: "This was the first shot I took with a filter called Xpro 2" - [00:24] Kevin Systrom: "I think I would have tried a little harder but I just was testing it out." - [00:31] Kevin Systrom: "I uploaded it and the rest is history, I guess." ## Questions this video answers - What was the first photo Kevin Systrom posted on Instagram? [00:00] - Which filter was used to take the first Instagram photo? [00:13] - Was Systrom working on Instagram alone when he took the first photo? [00:07] - Did Systrom expect his first photo to become historically significant? [00:24] - Does the Xpro 2 filter still exist in Instagram? [00:17]  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Dec 12, 2023 3:51 PM UTCPublished: Dec 27, 2018 4:44 PM UTC Five years ago today on July 16, 2010, Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom took a picture of a dog in Mexico near a taco stand, with a guest appearance by his girlfriend’s foot.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Dec 12, 2023 3:51 PM UTCPublished: Dec 27, 2018 4:44 PM UTC In the midst of the post-holiday glow, [Instagram](http://time.com/4408374/instagram-anniversary/) on Thursday introduced what at first appeared to be an update that required users to swipe side-to-side through their feed as opposed to scrolling up and down. And, as might be expected with any [major change to a social media platform](http://time.com/5287169/how-to-mute-on-instagram/), the Internet did not take kindly to the update and sounded off accordingly and with much outrage. The Instagram update didn’t affect everyone. But users who received it found that they needed to horizontally swipe through the posts on their feed, and also discovered that they could “tap” through the posts, much like one would while going through Instagram Stories. According to a tweet from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the social media company debuted the changes early on Thursday morning as a part of what was meant to be a “small test” of the new features — but the test was accidentally sent out more widely than anticipated. > [](https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1078321786586951680) “Due to a bug, some users saw a change to the way their feed appears today,” said an Instagram spokesperson in a statement. “We quickly fixed the issue and feed is back to normal. We apologize for any confusion.” While the update has been rolled back (those who are still experiencing it are advised to restart their apps), it hasn’t stopped the Internet from letting Instagram know exactly how they feel about the potential changes, which may or may not arrive in a future update. > [](https://twitter.com/ziwe/status/1078317251139387394) > [](https://twitter.com/voidkermit/status/1078319486489509888) > [](https://twitter.com/HayesBrown/status/1078318356158205952) > [](https://twitter.com/quintabrunson/status/1078325772572598274) Some Internet users have found the bright side to the Instagram update debacle, however. > [](https://twitter.com/ashleyrcarman/status/1078316367487610880) ## Transcript [00:00] The first photo I ever posted on Instagram is in some [00:03] ways the prototypical Instagram photo. It's of a dog [00:07] and of a foot. I had been working on this app on the [00:10] side with my co- founder I have been prototyping [00:13] filters. And this was the first shot I took with a filter [00:17] called Xpro 2 today. It still exists in the app Had I [00:21] known it would have been the first photo posted on [00:24] Instagram as it is today I think I would have tried a little [00:27] harder but I just was testing it out. I uploaded it and [00:31] the rest is history, I guess. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/"},"headline":"Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App and People Absolutely Hated It","datePublished":"2018-12-27T16:44:33.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T15:51:36.000Z","description":"Thank u, next","url":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Tech","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb4dc5ef5776481/6989424ee76ad25fc4633dd9/instagram-sideways-design.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb4dc5ef5776481/6989424ee76ad25fc4633dd9/instagram-sideways-design.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Instagram Sideways Design","caption":"Instagram Sideways Design","creditText":"Thomas Trutschel—Photothek via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/","name":"Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App and People Absolutely Hated It"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The CEO of Instagram on the The App’s First Photo Ever","description":"Five years ago today on July 16, 2010, Instagram CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom took a picture of a dog in Mexico near a taco stand, with a guest appearance by his girlfriend’s foot.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/upg5cCmb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-01T15:24:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upg5cCmb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/","duration":"PT38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5489132/instagram-sideways-design-test/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```