Instagram confirms that videos drop in quality if not frequently watched after upload: Full scoop

Meta-owned Instagram, popularly known for short-form video content, photos, and stories, has clarified that some of the most popular content on the platform is shown in a much higher quality than content that isn't as widely viewed. This explains why some content tends to look tack-sharp on the platform while other content, despite being uploaded and hosted in high quality, tends not to appear sharp. This information comes from Adam Mosseri, Instagram's head, who revealed it during an Ask Me Anything session.

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Here's What Adam Mosseri Said

Replying to a user question on Instagram Stories, Mosseri said, “In general, we're going to show the highest quality video we can when someone is watching a story, reel, or photo,” but at the same time, “if something isn't watched for a long time—because the vast majority of views are in the beginning—we will move to a lower quality video, and then if it's watched again a lot, we will re-render the higher quality video.”

Later, Mosseri confirmed, in a subsequent reply to the repost, that Instagram does support creators who drive the most views. “It works at an aggregate level, not an individual viewer level. We bias to higher quality (more CPU-intensive encoding and more expensive storage for bigger files) for creators who drive more views. It's not a binary threshold, but rather a sliding scale,” Mosseri said.

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The Quality Shift “Isn't Huge”

A user was quick to point out that this is unfair for smaller creators trying to grow. In response, Mosseri said that while it is a “right concern” to have, it “doesn't seem to matter much, as the quality shift isn't huge,” and whether people interact with content after it is posted is more based on the content of the video rather than the quality (streaming) itself. Simply put, what Mosseri is trying to imply here is: focus more on content, and the views will follow.

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