Instagram began lowering video quality for unpopular videos

Instagram✴ is introducing a new video playback policy. The head of Instagram✴ and Threads, Adam Mosseri, said that more popular videos will be displayed in high quality, and videos with a small number of views will be displayed in lower quality.

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Mosseri explained that Instagram✴ tries to show videos in the highest quality possible. But if a video doesn’t get enough views at the beginning, its playback quality may be reduced. He noted that most views occur in the first hours after publication, and if the algorithm detects that the video is not attracting attention, the platform begins to use less resource-intensive encoding, TechCrunch reports.

In general, the idea is not new – last year the Meta✴ company announced that it uses different CPU encoding settings depending on the popularity of the content. However, after one user shared a video of Mosseri on Threads, in which he talks about the policy of lowering the quality of videos, this topic sparked a lively discussion. Some have criticized the company’s approach, calling it “madness.”

The decision to reduce quality is made at an aggregate level, and not individually for each user, Mosseri clarifies. That is, the quality of the video does not depend on how a particular person interacts with it. “We prioritize higher-quality encoding for creators whose videos get more views,” he explains, while emphasizing that there will be a flexible approach rather than rigid restrictions.

Some users have expressed concern that such a system could widen the divide between popular and lesser-known authors. Popular content creators get the opportunity to publish videos in the best quality, which helps them further grow, while new bloggers can remain in the shadows. However, Mosseri assured that the difference in quality is insignificant and the decision of users to interact with a particular video is influenced more by its content than by technical parameters.