Instagram will test super-tall photos after rolling back updates that would make it more like TikTok

• Instagram will begin testing super-tall, 9:16 photos.
• Instagram recently halted a TikTok-style redesign after criticism.

You might start to notice photos on Instagram that are a lot taller.

In his weekly Ask Me Anything (AMA), Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said that the Meta-owned platform would be testing super-tall, 9:16 photos on the app "in a week or two." Photos currently format up to 4:5.

"You can have tall videos, but you cannot have tall photos on Instagram," Mosseri said. "So we thought maybe we should make sure that we treat both equally."

The feature seems to be a way for Instagram to introduce a TikTok-like design without forcing it onto users and giving them the option to crop photos that way if they want to.

Instagram recently said it would roll back a proposed TikTok-style redesign after backlash, including from influencer celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian.

Instagram was testing full-screen photos and videos in its main feed, similar to TikTok, which are being phased out.

But Reels, Instagram's answer to TikTok, are likely still the future of the app.

"Feed could be, and to some degree is, a place to discover things to talk about with your friends," Mosseri told Platformer in a recent interview. "With Reels, we're seeing this happen a lot. Reels are inspiring a lot of conversations — people just send funny videos to their friends that they've discovered in feed."