You can finally switch your Instagram feed to a chronological timeline. Here's how.

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You can finally switch your Instagram feed to a chronological timeline. Here's how.
  • Instagram re-introduced the option for users to view a chronological feed.
  • Instagram got rid of its chronological feed in favor of engagement-based ranking in 2016.

For the first time in eight years, you can view your Instagram feed in chronological order.

Instagram on Wednesday gave users the option to switch to a chronological feed. Instagram's feed used to be purely chronological until 2016, when it changed to an engagement-based feed that introduced posts from accounts users didn't follow.

Critics, including Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, said Meta's focus on engagement can promote harmful or divisive content. Haugen told a Senate hearing in October last year she believed that replacing engagement-based ranking with chronological feeds is one way of making Meta's various platforms safer.

Like Facebook, Instagram lets you toggle the chronological feed on and off but does not let you set it as your default feed. This means you'll need to manually turn on the chronological option every time you open the app.

Here's how to switch on your chronological feed:
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Load up the app on your phone and click on the Instagram logo in the top left-hand corner.

Load up the app on your phone and click on the Instagram logo in the top left-hand corner.
Instagram/Insider

Select "following" on the drop-down menu that appears.

Select "following" on the drop-down menu that appears.
Instagram/Insider
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This will take you to a version of your feed where you only see posts from the accounts you follow in chronological order.

This will take you to a version of your feed where you only see posts from the accounts you follow in chronological order.
Instagram/Insider

Instagram has also added a "favorites" option, which allows you to create a slimmed-down chronological feed that only displays posts from selected accounts.

Instagram has also added a "favorites" option, which allows you to create a slimmed-down chronological feed that only displays posts from selected accounts.
Instagram/Insider
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When you click on "favorites" you'll be invited to add accounts to your list of favorite accounts.

When you click on "favorites" you'll be invited to add accounts to your list of favorite accounts.
Instagram/Insider

Once you add accounts to your favorites you'll have the option to view posts from them in order by clicking on the "favorites" tab, and posts from them will also appear higher in your regular feed.

Instagram's chronological feed option is only available on its iOS and Android apps, not on web.

A Meta spokesperson told Insider the company has no plans to bring the feature to web.

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