Instagram’s copycat strategy is beating TikTok as a possible ban looms [Video]

When Instagram releases a new feature that is a direct copy of another app, its users fear the worst.

In a 2022 essay for Digital Trends, writer Cristina Alexander lamented the “TikTok-ification of Instagram” because it “takes away the type of content people love most about the platform: photos from friends and family, as well as content based on their interests.”

“And it’s something I’m just about fed up with,” Alexander wrote.

But the doomsaying rarely lasts forever. Alexander joins the ranks of Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and a whole host of regular users — including myself — who have fallen into the cycle of hating it when Instagram makes a copycat change and then, after a few months, come around to it. 

Like it or hate it, Instagram’s copycat strategy works — and its dedication to stealing features from other apps is helping to fuel its ability to overtake TikTok. 

Think of Instagram like Kirby in …