How to Order Your Instagram Feed By Date

The chronological order of posts has been restored on Instagram.

By Amily Smith Last updated Feb 1, 2023

It’s been nearly six years since Instagram switched from a chronological feed to an algorithm feed, and many people are still upset about it.

Rather than seeing all of their followed accounts’ posts and stories, the algorithm feed forces people to see posts and stories based on how they used Instagram. It’s great for discovery (and seeing ads and posts from accounts you don’t follow, if that’s your thing), but it’s not always great for keeping up with friends, family, and other accounts you follow. It can be challenging to keep up with them all because there are so many posts. Fortunately, you can sort your Instagram feed by date. This keeps your timeline organized and makes it simple to find the posts you’re looking for.

This week, Instagram finally allows users to return to a chronological feed — sort of.

You can learn how to sort your Instagram feed by date in this article.

| Latest: How To Switch Your Instagram Feeds Back To Chronological Order

Order Instagram Feed by Date

Instagram made a significant platform change in 2016 by moving away from a chronological feed and toward an algorithmic one. This implies that you now see posts that Instagram thinks are the most pertinent to you, rather than the most recent posts from the people you follow.

The algorithm takes into account things like the relevance of the posts, your connection to the author, and whether you have interacted with that author’s posts in the past. Despite the controversy surrounding this change, it is understandable why Instagram would prefer an algorithmic feed.

The first benefit is that it keeps users returning to the platform more frequently. Second, it increases the likelihood that potential customers will see advertisements for businesses. Finally, it enables Instagram to gather more user data that is useful for directing marketing campaigns.

However, a chronological feed presents users with a number of difficulties. First off, it can be challenging to stay up to date with the content in real-time if you follow a lot of people. You’re likely to miss a lot of what’s being posted if you can only check your feed a few times per day.

You might not see every post that has been made since the last time you checked if your feed is algorithmic. This is especially true if you’re paying attention to a specific conversation or event. Confusion can result from posts that appear to be unorganized, and it can be challenging to stay up to date with the most recent developments.

There is good news, though! Instagram has finally agreed to reinstate a chronological feed, allowing you to sort the feed by date, following years of pressure. It’s still technically impossible to physically distinguish between events that occur on different days. However, if you have a chronological feed, you can see the posts in the order that they were published.

Let’s look at how to change your feed to a chronological one based on the device you’re using.

Order Instagram Feed by Date on an iPhone

Switching to a chronological feed would be the logical next step if you’re an iPhone user eager to explore everything Instagram has to offer and stay up to date with the newest news and trends.

How to do it is as follows:

Open the Instagram app on your phone.

On your screen, click the Instagram icon in the upper left corner. The feed management section will then be displayed.

Select “Following” from the list.

You will then only be able to see posts from the accounts you follow, switching your Instagram feed from algorithm to chronological mode instantly. Additionally, the posts will be arranged by date, from the newest to the oldest.

Because of the vast number of accounts you follow, sometimes even with a chronological feed you may not be able to see all the posts made on a specific date. But don’t worry, you can still order items by date and limit the feed to only include posts from particular accounts.

Here’s how:

Tap the Instagram logo in the top left corner of the app after opening it.

Select “Favorites” from the list.

Tap “Confirm Favorites” after choosing the accounts you want to add to your favorites.

Order Instagram Feed by Date on an Android Device

Here’s how to order your feed by date on an Android-powered device:

Open the Instagram app.

Tap the Instagram logo at the top of your screen to open the feed management section.

Select “Following” from the list.

When you do this, posts in chronological order from the accounts you follow will be added to your feed.

There’s a Catch

While the option to set your favorite accounts or order your Instagram feed by date is a welcome addition, there is a catch.

Any adjustments you make in this regard are only temporary, and after you end the session and close the app, your account reverts to an algorithm feed. Neither of these new feeds can be set as your default feed. As a result, whenever you open the app, an algorithm feed filled with advertisements and unordered posts will appear.

To use either the “Favorites” version or the “Following” version, you must modify the app. This is a major inconvenience, and it’s likely that many users won’t bother switching back and forth and will just stick with the default algorithm feed. We can only hope that Instagram will one day enable users to make their preferred feed the default.

Keep Your Feed Up-to-Date

It can be much simpler to find the post you’re looking for and keep your timeline organized with a chronological feed. By switching to the Following feed or Favorites feed, you can easily revisit a previous promotion or simply see what new content was posted yesterday.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_tabs][/vc_column][/vc_row]