Instagram is facing backlash for reducing the quality of low engagement videos

Conclusion: It's not uncommon for content creators to invest a lot of time and money into their productions, but depending on which platform is used for sharing, it could all end up being for nothing.

In a recent exchange on Threads, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri confirmed that the platform downgrades the video quality of older content in certain scenarios. “If something goes unwatched for a long time because the vast majority of views come at the beginning, we switch to a lower quality video,” Mosseri explained.

If popularity increases again, Instagram will re-render the video in higher quality, he added.

The admission sparked resistance in several quarters. From a technical perspective, it makes sense that Instagram would want to reduce the quality of certain videos to save on storage and bandwidth costs. From the perspective of the person who created the video, it's disheartening to say the least when the presentation is compromised.

Others have questioned whether the policy creates an unfair playing field for popular YouTubers compared to those who are just starting out or have smaller audiences. Depending on the exact implementation, aspiring creatives could find it more difficult to advance their careers.

Successful YouTubers, on the other hand, may be forced to delete older content that no longer performs well because it is now presented in a lower quality that makes their brand look bad.

Mosseri tried to put a positive spin on the matter by highlighting that lower quality videos are ideal for users with slower connections. In a follow-up, Mosseri said that the shift in quality was not “huge” and that whether or not people interact with videos depends more on the content of the video than the quality in which it is shown.

“Quality seems to be much more important to the original creator… than to its viewers,” Mosseri noted.

YouTube is reportedly experimenting with removing dates and view counts from videos displayed on its homepage. Both metrics can be helpful when deciding whether or not you should click on a video, even if you don't know it at the time. For example, it could be much more difficult to determine whether a video represents the latest information on a particular topic if the release date is not immediately available.

Photo credit: Solen Feyissa, Planet Volumes