Meta has long had an issue with its social media platforms, and this is called the 'rug pulling' glitch that is common on Instagram, but the company has now fixed this issue that has been bugging users for the longest time. This issue has been a notorious problem on Instagram that causes users to lose the video they are watching when they reopen the app on mobile.
On the other hand, this issue is also replacing the video that appears when the app is opened for the first time after significant moments elapsed, with the app refreshing it to a new clip.
A Threads user recently shared an Instagram Story that was recently posted by the platform's CEO, Adam Mosseri, claiming that one of the most recent changes on social media focused on removing the 'rug pulling' issue. It was explained by Mosseri that the platform's development team already addressed this and would no longer skip to a new video, especially when a user is not yet done watching it.
It was revealed by Mosseri that 'rug pulling' was applied by the platform intentionally, and this is to improve user engagement with the content they see online. Mosseri explained that the first videos they see when opening the app are the pre-loaded content which is meant to be the 'first act' before moving on to the suggested content.
Mosseri also shared that this feature was "good for engagement," as it kept users occupied and hooked to specific content, before offering the main lineup that is suggested by their algorithm.
Despite the good intentions by Instagram, users did not appreciate this 'rug pulling' issue which they perceived as a glitch, especially as people who were given engaging content lost this after quite some time after it finished refreshing.
The fix is rolling out to users, but some claimed that it is not yet available in their experiences, this announcement by Mosseri confirmed that it will no longer be an issue, allowing users to enjoy and finish the videos they see.
Instagram has long led the social media space to deliver unique experiences to showcase one's life, work, hobby, and persona online, with the company putting significant developments to its content creation aspect. Recently, Instagram introduced a new capability for Reels to add as many as 20 songs to a single video, with users allowed to experiment or mix and match for their videos.
Moreover, the company has already rolled out its developments to improve children's safety online, particularly for the "Teens" account which will now deliver "age-appropriate" content to their experiences. This feature assures parents that their growing children will be safe from the significant dangers and harms brought by social media, ensuring that safeguards are in place for all.
There have been multiple upgrades that were shared on Instagram over the past months that help expand more of the renowned experiences of the platform, including its updates on Broadcasts, Live, Close Friends, and more that arrived this year. Now, a feature that then transformed into an issue has been addressed by the platform, with Instagram no longer "pulls the rug" from users when they are watching a video, but still refreshes the feed for users for their next watch.