Users criticize Instagram’s new layout

But the platform’s head, Adam Mosseri, defended the update as necessary.

"Squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram. The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical," the UK’s Metro quoted him as saying.

He described resizing images to fit the square format as outdated and inconvenient.

"It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal. So I’m hoping we can figure out a way to manage this transition."

Instagram app on a smartphone. Photo by Pixabay

However, the change has sparked a backlash, with many users finding the new layout disruptive.

One user on X (formerly Twitter) lamented: "Everyone else’s IG grid just changed to 4:5 ?? After we’ve all spent years creating square graphics specifically for IG. Out of all the ways you could improve this app and this is what they want to do?"

South Korean netizens also criticized the update, pointing out aesthetic flaws. Some noted how the new layout disrupts previously uniform grid designs, with one commenter calling it a "loss of aesthetics."

Another used singer Cha Eun Woo’s Instagram as an example of awkward empty spaces created by the new design.

K-pop accounts, which often rely on Instagram’s square grid for teaser campaigns, have been particularly affected. Allkpop reported that the rectangular format has disrupted curated layouts, potentially forcing changes to how K-pop promotions are organized.