Instagram users may have noticed their profile grid is now displaying their photos in rectangle format rather than square. For some photographers, the change has wreaked havoc with their carefully curated profile.
Last summer, PetaPixel reported that Instagram was testing the change but the Meta platform has now rolled it out to all users.
“I know some of you really like your squares. And square photos are sort of the heritage of Instagram. But at this point, most of what’s uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation,” Mosseri says in an Instagram story.
“But at this point, most of what’s uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation. And it just is a bummer to overly crop them. I know it’s a change. I know it’s a bit of a pain, but I think it’s a transitional pain.”
The new update on Instagram is so weird :sob: pic.twitter.com/IN0kvw9fgq
— Niall Horan Updates 🩵:sparkles: (@niallxupdates_) January 18, 2025
instagram will pay for their crimes oh my… they just ruined like every kpop groups account pic.twitter.com/ZW9zkcJ1dl
— ۟ (@ningvinyl) January 18, 2025
One analog photographer took to Reddit to complain “my nice square-frame aspect ratio that I set to make my 6×6 and 35mm look nice in preview is now all for nothing.”
However, a fellow Redditor points out that it is adjustable by going to “post settings”, “adjust preview” and selecting “fit”.
“I know this can be annoying for some of you who really spent a lot of time curating and making sure everything lines up, but I would really like to do better by the content today,” Mosseri said back in August.
“The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical. It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal. So, I’m hoping we can figure out a way to manage this transition.”
📲Instagram is officially testing a vertical (portrait) profile grid. pic.twitter.com/cYTKkM6wEZ
— Radu Oncescu (@oncescuradu) August 17, 2024
Instagram’s new layout means it is in line with TikTok’s profile grid. It’s been well-documented that Instagram, perhaps enviable of TikTok’s success, has been copying features from the Chinese-owned app. On Tuesday Instagram announced “Edits”, a new video editing app that closely resembles CapCut, which went offline on Sunday along with TikTok.
