Instagram’s Head of Adam Mosseri shed light on the platform’s video quality optimization strategy in a recent AMA session, revealing that the decision to reduce video quality is largely driven by performance considerations. According to Mosseri, the platform prioritizes showing the highest-quality video possible, but if a video doesn’t receive consistent views over time, it will be downgraded to a lower quality version to conserve computing resources.
However, Mosseri clarified that this approach is not a blanket policy, but rather a sliding scale that takes into account the popularity of individual creators. “We bias to higher quality for creators who drive more views,” he stated, which has sparked concerns among smaller creators who feel they are at a disadvantage compared to their more established counterparts.
Mosseri acknowledged that Meta uses different encoding configurations to process videos based on their popularity, but emphasized that this system works at an aggregate level, not individually. He also sought to reassure smaller creators by stating that the quality shift doesn’t have a significant impact on viewer engagement, as people tend to focus more on the content itself rather than the quality.
Despite Mosseri’s reassurances, many users remain skeptical, with some questioning the fairness of the system. One user pointed out that the quality shift may not be immediately noticeable, but it can still affect the overall viewing experience. Mosseri countered that the original creator is more likely to delete a low-quality video than their viewers are to notice it, but this argument has not convinced everyone.
