--- 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 ---  # Instagram Accidentally Changed Everyone's App and People Absolutely Hated It > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d9928b7b-8205-4499-b0d0-48bcd9152374&cr=time-nl-network-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._  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 The first photo I ever posted on Instagram is in some ways the prototypical Instagram photo. It's of a dog and of a foot. I had been working on this app on the side with my co- founder I have been prototyping filters. And this was the first shot I took with a filter called Xpro 2 today. It still exists in the app Had I known it would have been the first photo posted on Instagram as it is today I think I would have tried a little harder but I just was testing it out. 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