Welcome to The Instagram Stories! In this episode, Daniel Hill breaks down the latest Instagram updates from the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri's weekly Ask Me Anything. We tackle pressing questions like whether the platform is switching to paid tiers (spoiler: it's staying free, supported by ads!), the status of the Edits app for desktop, and how to reset your Instagram algorithm if you're tired of your current feed. Daniel also shares Adam Mosseri's insights on how posting trial Reels affects your reach and the best way to collaborate with smaller creators (hint: the order you post matters!). Plus, hear about the future of horizontal video for Reels (especially for TV viewing), the much-needed search bar for saved lists, and the challenges of fast-forwarding Stories. We also get an update on the globally expanding Series feature, a growing trend for episodic content. Tune in for all the news and feature suggestions to improve your Instagram experience. Links: The Equipment I Use: Microphone: Shure MV7+ USB-C & XLR Podcast Dynamic Mic with Stand (Amazon) Headphones: Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds (Amazon) Laptop: Dell Latitude 7320 Detachable Detachable 2-in-1 Laptop Tablet Touch | 13" (Amazon) Phone: Samsung S25 Ultra with S-Pen included (Amazon) Leave a Review of the Podcast: Apple Podcasts Connect with me on Instagram: @danielhillmedia Connect with me on Threads: @danielhillmedia Connect with me on YouTube: @danielhill_media Transcript: --- **Daniel Hill:** Welcome to *The Instagram Stories* for Monday, October 5th. I'm your host, Daniel Hill. On Mondays, we talk about what the head of Instagram discussed on his weekly Ask Me Anything, and this week we're going to talk about if Instagram is switching to paid tiers—interestingly, it is not—how to reset your algorithm if you are tired of seeing the content that you are currently being shown, and updates for the Edits app for desktop. We'll also get into some feature suggestions: things that Instagram definitely needs, and we've been talking about for a while. All of that on today's episode, but first, a quick word from our sponsors. *(Sponsorship Break)* **Daniel Hill:** Welcome back. Getting into the questions and answers from the head of Instagram, and let's start with the most interesting one: **Is Instagram really going to go to paid tiers?** We've been talking about some of the paid plans that Instagram offers, but at its core, Instagram will always be free, supported by ads. Here's the head of Instagram to explain. **Adam Mosseri:** No, Instagram is free, and it's going to stay that way. We do have some options if you want to buy extra features. It certainly allows you to buy ads. But the experience that 3 billion people use every day is free, and it's going to stay that way. **Daniel Hill:** All right, now let's move on to **the Edits for desktop status question**. We've been coming across this fairly regularly, but if you're paying for a video editing app, maybe you won't need to once the Edits app for desktop comes out and it does all the things that you need, potentially. Here's Adam's update on the Edits app for desktop. **Adam Mosseri:** So we have our first version of the Edits desktop out to a select set of creators. We're still iterating on it, getting a lot of feedback. One of the cool things that the Edits team does, I think, is work directly with a lot of creators and get their feedback as they design and build the app, and incorporate that feedback into what they build, which I think is one of the reasons why the Edits app, generally speaking, is loved. Obviously, there are critics, as there are of everything, and there are naysayers, and there's room to improve the experience. But the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and I think that's in a large part because the team works hand-in-hand with a lot of creators to get their feedback and shape their roadmaps. So, no updates on when we're going to have open access yet. We're working on it, and I'd like to get it out as soon as we can. **Daniel Hill:** Okay, I just want to take issue with one thing that Adam said in that answer about the reason why the Edits app is so loved. I believe that the reason the Edits app is so loved is because it's free, as compared to CapCut, which is $19.99 a month or $180 per year. If you've been paying for CapCut or some other video editing app and someone presented you with a free alternative, you would likely love it too. That's my point. Okay, now let's transition into the reach-related questions. The first one: **Does it hurt my reach if I post as a trial Reel first?** No, definitely not, and using trial Reels is a good opportunity to see how an audience that's not familiar with you might react to your content. Here is Adam's answer. **Adam Mosseri:** No, it doesn't. If you post a trial Reel and then you like how it does and you want to upgrade it to a normal Reel and have it go to your followers and on your profile, that's great, and it will not hurt you that you had it start as a trial. **Daniel Hill:** The next reach-related question: **Does collaboration with a small creator affect reach and engagement?** Well, not really. If you do a collab post, it's going to be shown to both of your audiences, but the order with which you post that collab is actually a factor. So, here's Adam to explain. **Adam Mosseri:** When you do a collab, if the person you're collaborating with is a larger creator, you should have them start the collab, and it will help your reach. If you are the larger creator, you should also start the collab, and it's not going to hurt your reach, but it's not going to meaningfully help your reach either, because the person you're collaborating with is smaller. It will help a little bit, but not as much as the other way around. **Daniel Hill:** All right, let's move on to a question about **how to reset the algorithm**. If you didn't know, you can completely reset your Instagram algorithmic experience, meaning the content that Instagram thinks you will like. You can also select topics you're interested in and what topics you're not interested in. Resetting your algorithm periodically is really good because it gives you a chance to see what content you are not potentially seeing. You might not be interested in it, but at least you get a fresh view of all the things that people are posting out there in the world that Instagram doesn't know that you might potentially be interested in. The question here is: **Why is there no algorithmic reset option in India?** I was actually a bit surprised by this question because I wasn't aware that that was only limited to certain countries, but according to Adam's answer, it seems like everyone should have the ability to reset their algorithm. **Adam Mosseri:** So, I'm pretty sure you can reset your algorithm no matter what country you live in. You go to the profile and settings, and there's a section under there called "What content you see," I think. If you go in there, there's actually a specific option—this is still just under settings—called "Content preferences," and in there, you'll find a reset option, which will reset how ranking works for all suggestions, all recommendations. So, check it out. **Daniel Hill:** Quick side story about this: I showed my wife how to reset her algorithm a few months back, and last weekend, we were at a friend's house, and one of the friends there was complaining about her Instagram experience and how it was always showing her content she didn't like. My wife showed her how to reset her own algorithm and deselect which topics she was not interested in that Instagram was showing her content about. I've never been so proud! We are going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to talk about the Instagram Series feature and when it's going to be more widely available, talk about some feature suggestions that people have made, and we'll get into full screen for Instagram Reels, but in a horizontal format. Stay tuned. *(Sponsorship Break)* **Daniel Hill:** Welcome back. Continuing with the questions and answers, the next one: **Any chance of full screen for horizontal Reels?** This is interesting to me. I personally do not want a full-screen horizontal experience for Reels on my phone because I don't really want to rotate my phone, but I can see that some people would want to, so I get that as an idea. Here's Adam's explanation. **Adam Mosseri:** There's a chance. I think that we need to figure out how to better support not only horizontal video, but longer video. We haven't historically focused on it on Instagram because it's usually pretty bad for—well, most everything other than time spent. It's bad for sharing, comments, likes, messages, because when you watch one long video, that's a lot of other short things you might have sent to a friend, liked, commented on, etc. But we do know that there's a lot of demand for long-form video, particularly on TV, as well as horizontal video. So, I think we should have to figure out how to balance that. How do we let long-form video grow inside of Instagram without crowding out everything else is the heart of the question, and it's something we're actively exploring. So, things like being able to view a horizontal or landscape video properly is definitely something that we're going to have to figure out. **Daniel Hill:** When I first saw the question, I was thinking about it in terms of watching it on your phone, but I see now with his answer he's talking about televisions, which absolutely makes sense for horizontal viewing. Okay, let's move on to some other feature suggestions. The question: **What are your thoughts on a search bar for saved lists in Instagram?** This is so badly needed. The search on Instagram is very challenging, especially for content that you've seen previously and want to find again—for instance, if you saved it. **Adam Mosseri:** We should
