Instagram will soon test ultra-tall photos to match its full-screen reels

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

That doesn't mean that the company won't focus on full-screen content During his weekly Ask Me Anything today, CEO Adam Mosseri said that the photo sharing service will begin testing 9:16 photos in a few weeks.

Mosseri said that you can have tall videos, but you can't have tall photos on social media. We wondered if we should treat both equally. When displaying vertical images, it tops out at 4:5 on the photo sharing site. They will fill the entire screen when you scroll through the app's feed.

Some photographers were not happy with the way the redesign forced all photos to be displayed in a9:16 frame. The new feed made it easier to read the text. That clashed with the original look of the work. The first experiment was done by Thomas Fitzgerald.

Mosseri admitted more than once that the full-screen experience was not suited for photos. The ultra- tall photo experience is still intended to be showcased, but without mandating it.

According to the company's data, some people began using the app less often because of the new design. He said in an interview last week that he thinks we need to take a step back and regroup. The amount of recommendations being shown to users will be reduced until it is better at selecting content they will actually enjoy.