Rolls back many tiktok-like featuresThe power is in your hand: instagramAfter backlash and petition by users Meta spokesperson said 'we are pausing these new test features

 

Meta spokesperson said 'we are pausing these new test features

After facing backlash from its users for losing originality, social networking platform Instagram has decided to do away with its Tik-Tok like features.

Celebrity sisters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were some of the most vocal users  have posted messages on social media this week calling for the company to "make Instagram Instagram again" and stop trying to be like TikTok.

The slogan sprang from a change.org petition that had received more than 229,000 signatures as of late Thursday.

"Lets go back to our roots with Instagram and remember that the intention behind Instagram was to share photos, for Pete's sake," the petition read.

Some of  new test features, which rolled out to some Instagram users over the past few weeks, included a full-screen feed that emphasized short-form videos on Reels and an increase in recommended posts from accounts that users are not following. Those features will now be paused or decreased, according to a Meta spokesperson, though there is no timeframe for when they may return to the platform.

Before deciding to pause the controversial features, Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri replied to the controversy on Twitter, earlier this week. In the video he posted on Twitter, Adam ensured the public that the features are on their trial phase and are being tested with small number of users to keep Instagram up to date .

"I'm glad we took a risk," Mosseri was quoted as saying Thursday in an interview with Platformer's Casey Newton.

"But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup.If we are not failing every once in a while, we're not thinking big enough or bold enough," Mosseri said.

Both Meta and Google are among companies facing increased competition from TikTok for people's attention, and have launched their own versions of short-form video sharing.