What is the Instagram Algorithm & How to Beat It Before we get to our Instagram marketing hacks to beat the Insta algorithm, let's travel back in time and see what happened with a massive algorithm update in 2016. When the update occurred, Instagram users were unable to view 70 percent of all posts and 50 percent of their friends’ posts. You see, before 2016, Instagram used to have a reverse-chronological feed for showing content. However, as more and more people joined the platform, people started seeing less of what they like (since the feed just kept getting buried down) and the platform became crowded. So in July 2016, Instagram ditched the reverse-chronological feed for an algorithmic feed. There was a massive backlash on this decision, but it has all turned to be for the good. Instagram now says relevancy sorting has led to its billion users seeing 90 percent of their friends’ posts and spending more time on the app. Instagram Hack #1: Instagram allows users to ha...