Instagram chief Adam Mosseri warns user experience worsens without algorithm

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has warned that the average user experience degrades significantly when social media feeds shift to a chronological order, arguing that platforms quickly become flooded with commercial posts, according to reporting by Abc and The Guardian on Thursday, 10 September 2026. The remarks arrived during a press briefing intended to promote the platform's short-form series, Algo Confessions, and the Your Algorithm feature. The debate over content curation has intensified as governments worldwide move to regulate big tech and mandate easier opt-out mechanisms for algorithmic feeds.

The discussion follows a proposal announced earlier in the week by the Albanese government, which plans to force digital platforms to give Australians a choice via push notifications to quit algorithmic feeds in favour of reverse chronological timelines. According to Abc, the measure forms part of a Digital Duty of Care framework designed to shift responsibility onto big tech to reduce online harms, backed by potential fines. The Guardian noted that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese outlined the plans to require platforms to prompt users to choose between recommended content and followed pages.

Media additions

Although chronological feeds are technically accessible globally, uptake remains low. Mosseri stated that user awareness of the feature is minimal, estimating uptake in Australia to be in the low single-digit percentages, as reported by Abc. Mosseri explained that without default settings driving usage, most individuals never encounter or select the alternative feed. Similar rules have previously been enacted across the European Union, while a Dutch court ordered platforms to provide chronological feeds as a default setting.

During the briefing, Mosseri explained the mechanics behind chronological feeds, pointing out that ordinary users and friends post far less frequently than professional creators and corporate entities. Because the most effective strategy for reach in a chronological system is posting volume, commercial outfits drown out personal connections. According to The Guardian, Mosseri stated that people become less interested in the experience and use the app far less frequently, shrinking the overall engagement pie. Satisfaction metrics — both aggregate feedback and specific ratings on whether posts were worth a user's time — fall sharply under chronological systems, according to Abc.

Addressing criticisms that the underlying technology operates as an opaque system, Mosseri acknowledged that the ranking mechanism feels like a black box. He highlighted ongoing efforts to provide greater agency and transparency, mentioning that future artificial intelligence models could eventually let users converse directly with the application to understand why specific content appears on their screens.

Mosseri also pushed back against accusations that Instagram is addictive, conceding that his stance might prove controversial. As reported by The Guardian, he distinguished colloquial uses of addiction, such as binge-watching a television show, from clinical definitions involving withdrawal symptoms. In a landmark US court case brought by 29 states, Meta settled for $18 billion, with Abc citing the figure at $23 billion, while denying wrongdoing, though company lawyers conceded that users can struggle with managing platform usage.

As legislative bodies continue scrutinising big tech practices, stakeholders await further parliamentary debates in Australia regarding the final implementation of the My Feed, My Way legislation and the enforcement of the Digital Duty of Care framework.