Science

Instagram removes IGTV button from its home page after discovering very few users actually use it


Instagram silently removes IGTV button from its home page after discovering very few users actually use it

  • IGTV has been quietly removed from Instagram’s home page 
  • The company says users weren’t clicking on the button
  • Only 7 million of Instagram’s 1 billion users downloaded the IGTV app
  • The move may highlight struggled to popularize the app

Things aren’t looking so good for Instagram’s long-form streaming feature, IGTV. 

In a quiet but telling move, the social media platform is ridding its home page of a conspicuous, and often ignored, IGTV button located at the top of the platform’s interface next to direct messages.  

According to TechCrunch, Instagram quietly removed the button after discovering that few users were actually following the link to watch on IGTV. 

Only 7 million of the social network’s 1 billion users even bothered to download the app according to TechCrunch.

IGTV has been removed from Instagram's home page after users mostly declined to click a button fixed next to direct messages

IGTV has been removed from Instagram’s home page after users mostly declined to click a button fixed next to direct messages

‘As we’ve continued to work on making it easier for people to create and discover IGTV content, we’ve learned that most people are finding IGTV content through previews in Feed, the IGTV channel in Explore, creators’ profiles and the standalone app,’ a Facebook representative told TechCrunch. 

‘Very few are clicking into the IGTV icon in the top right corner of the home screen in the Instagram app… We always aim to keep Instagram as simple as possible, so we’re removing this icon based on these learnings and feedback from our community.’

While Instagram will still keep IGTV’s functionality in its platform – users can still access IGTV content via the Explore tab, stories, and elsewhere – the move is a tacit acknowledgement that its allure pales in comparison to many of its other roll outs.

IGTV, though clearly underutilized by many, was released with some major expectations. Notably, the video-centric offshoot was expected to rival, or at least compete, with online video giant, YouTube.

As noted by TechCrunch, however, Instagram has yet to offer the same perks to creators as those making videos for YouTube which pays its most-viewed creators by using their platform to place targeted ads.

Despite the less-than-ideal engagement, Instagram hasn’t entirely given up on making IGTV an integral part of its platform.

It recently started giving users more options to post videos to IGTV and has said that it hopes users will use the tab as a place where you can watch most any video content.



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.