Instagram changes algorithm and starts punishing accounts that copy content

Instagram announced today (30) significant changes to your algorithm that will directly affect “copy and paste” accounts, known for reposting content. The objective is to value profiles that publish original content in recommendations.

According to Instagram, the targets are content aggregator accounts, those that download videos and/or photos from third parties and repost them, making serial republications without authorization from the original creator. Users who perform this work more than 10 times in a 30-day span will be penalized.

Punished content aggregator accounts will receive a notification from Instagram.Source: The Verge/Reproduction

Profiles caught by the algorithm performing reposts above the limit will not be recommended in the main feed and Explore section for 30 days, as Meta explained. Furthermore, reposted content will be replaced by original posts in recommendations, as a way to increase its reach.

The penalty will be applied even if the aggregator profile mentions the author in the post and should affect celebrity fan pages and those that repost inspiring photos found on Instagram, for example. Punished accounts may be recommended again by the social network after one month.

Showing the smallest accounts

In addition to the change, which will not impact accounts with licensing agreements or sharing permission given by original creators, the platform will also have a new classification algorithm. In this case, the idea is to “give all creators equal opportunities for advancement”, according to Instagram.

To give equal chances to everyone, the social network’s recommendation system will now recommend Reels from smaller accounts to a small portion of users who may be interested in that content. The posts that get the best results will be displayed to a wider audience, increasing the possibility of going viral.

Currently, suggestions are based on engagement with posts, which in theory prioritizes posts made by accounts with large numbers of followers. This new system will begin to be implemented in the coming months.