Instagram is killing its notorious Following tab — and to be honest, it’s about time.
The Following tab was originally intended to help with new account discovery. However, the Explore tab has since joined the party, now serving as the primary source for users to find new accounts and hashtags to follow.
Following has allowed users to keep up with everyone they’re following in a stalker-ish sense — down to their likes, comments and follows in real-time. According to Instagram, only a small amount of accounts utilize this social media tracking device as it is.
The Following tab has become problematic for friendships, business partners and even relationships — i.e. How dare you like her photo? Which seems petty, but only goes to show how unnecessary this form of tracking is to the essence of the app.
Rollout is taking place now through the end of the week. Upon the tab’s removal, users will only be able to view their own activity from now on.
Source: TechCrunch