Instagram is getting rid of its Following tab, which has become widely known as a creepy stalking tool. The feature had been intended to help users find cool new accounts to follow, but has raised privacy concerns over the sinister ways some people use it.
The Following tab allows you to browse what posts have been liked or accounts have been followed by other users – including the late-night Instagram activities of your thirstiest friends and colleagues. Jealous partners and ex-partners can monitor what accounts you’ve started following and whose photos you’ve liked, among other problematic uses of the feature.
But starting this week, the heart tab will display only a user’s own Instagram activity, while the Search & Explore will introduce potential new accounts to follow as the Following tab had been intended.
Instagram’s Vishal Shah told Buzzfeed News the company is removing the feature because it wasn’t getting a lot of use. “People didn’t always know that their activity is surfacing,” Shah told the website. “So you have a case where it’s not serving the use case you built if for, but it’s also causing people to be surprised when their activity is showing up.” He went on to add, “Simplicity was the driving factor.”
Instagram first added “Following” back in 2011. However, as a way to discover new accounts and photos, the app’s “Discover” tab does a much better job of surfacing interesting content.
