Instagram fans delete their accounts over ‘dumb’ app change and blame Mark Zuckerberg for being ‘afraid’ of TikTok

INSTAGRAM users have slammed a major overhaul of the app – and some are even threatening to walk away from the platform for good over it.

The Meta-owned photo sharing app made a huge change to the long-running “grid” just as TikTok was on the cusp of being banned in the US.

Returning Republican President Donald Trump, 78, has said he’ll issue an executive order to extend TikTok’s life in the US to flesh out a deal with Chinese parent company ByteDance.

Meta’s less-popular video rival Reels would have been one of the main beneficiaries from TikTok’s ban, which went dark on Saturday before returning the next day.

Instagram’s new look on profiles swaps the square grid for a tall grid shape.

While it may seem minor to many, devoted users of the app have slated the “pointless” move.

Businesses who have specially crafted their profile pages to flow based on the squares have criticised the shake-up too.

An online petition has even been launched urging the social network to reverse the changes.

“Years of work for my business down the drain,” one business owner wrote on Reddit.

“I deleted Instagram yesterday because it became a chore to use,” another commented.

“Yes, I loved posting on there, I had a bookstagram and it was so much fun, but that’s all gone now because of these updates.

“I’m just begging people to take even a day away from it.”

A third added: “Literally no one asked for this.”

Meanwhile, others accused Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg of being “afraid” of TikTok.

“Why is Meta so afraid of Tik Tok?” one user raged.

“Simply because Tik Tok is a superior platform that doesn’t implement a million unpopular and unwarranted changes.

“That’s why Zuck feels so threatened.

“We’ll create a better product, listen to your users before it’s too late!!!”

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri took to the platform over the weekend to explain the refresh, saying the tall grid was introduced because most photos and videos that are shared these days are vertical so “rectangles do a better job showing off those photos and videos”.

“But I know some of you spend a lot of time tweaking your grids and this blew all of that up, so we’re going to improve the ability to customize those thumbnails, as you can see if you swipe.

“We’re also looking to move highlights into the grid and add them as a tab.”

How Donald Trump Could Still Save TikTok

On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld a congressional bill banning TikTok in the United States

The law would not immediately remove TikTok from phones nationwide or force it to go dark.

However, tech companies that continue hosting the app or updating it in their app store could face penalties.

US users with existing TikTok accounts can still access the app freely.

But, TikTok could eventually become obsolete as app stores and cloud providers will no longer be allowed to push out updates for the platform.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will review the banning of TikTok and will make a decision of platform’s future.

The ban is set to go into effect on January 19, 2025, a day before Trump is sworn in as president.

There are several ways Trump could interfere and save TikTok momentarily.

• President Joe Biden has said he will not enforce the law against tech companies who host TikTok on their app store when it goes into effect on January 19, 2025.
• Instead, Biden said it will leave that decision up to the incoming Trump administration.
• Trump could instruct the Department of Justice to ignore the law and not enforce it, while they work out a deal to separate TikTok from ByteDance, its Chinese-owned parent company.
• The president-elect could also sign an executive order pausing the ban for 60 to 90 days.
• Trump’s team have repeatedly said the president-elect has “expressed desire to save TikTok.”
• “President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save TikTok, and there’s no better dealmaker than Donald Trump,” a Trump spokesperson said.