Instagram finally fixes the “rug pull” that caused videos to disappear mid-view

by Junna Base November 11, 2024

I’m sure you’ve been there. You open Instagram, watch an interesting video, maybe you’re just on it, and then…Bam– it disappears. Just like that, replaced by a random post that pops up in your feed out of nowhere.

It’s like Instagram teases you, shows you something cool, and then snatches it away from you before you get a chance to really look at it. And the worst? Good luck ever finding it again with Instagram’s not-so-helpful search function.

Well, apparently Instagram was aware of this “carpet pull” issue (yes, it was actually called that internally) and decided to fix it. According to Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, who acknowledged the issue in a recent “Ask Me Anything” session on his Instagram story, they originally set it up this way on purpose to ensure new content loaded quickly. If it took time to fetch new posts, it would show something that was already downloaded to avoid the dreaded buffer lag.

While this ensured high engagement, it also annoyed users to no end. Mosseri admitted this in a recent AMA, saying, “It’s really annoying, so we stopped doing it.” Now, instead of pulling the video away from you, the app waits until you scroll to show new content.

Although this optimization makes watching videos much smoother, I still accidentally refresh reels and lose track of interesting posts every now and then. Personally, I would like to see Instagram take a cue from YouTube Shorts and add a “watch history” feature.

Instagram now allows users to add multiple audio tracks to Reels

The new multitrack audio feature offers developers expanded creative flexibility on the platform.

YouTube video history has saved me so many times – it’s such a simple addition, but incredibly useful. Imagine being able to scroll back through your most recently viewed Reels or videos on Instagram. It would be a game changer, especially for those moments when you come across a reel that’s too good to lose to the scroll.

At least for now, it’s nice to know that we’ll no longer lose videos while watching. It’s a small change, but a much-needed improvement that makes the entire Instagram experience feel a little more user-friendly and less frustrating.