Merging Instagram's Separate Format Tabs into One Unified Feed: Go or No-Go

You are a product manager at Instagram. Today each content format, such as feed posts, Reels, stories and live broadcasts, has its own tab. Someone suggests removing that separation and showing every format together in a single feed. How would you decide whether to build this? ```hint Different formats, different moods Each format is consumed in its own way and for its own reason. Think about what one ranked feed would gain and lose for each format, and for the people who create it, before deciding how to test the idea. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which goal should the decision serve first: time spent, daily actives and retention, creator reach, or ad revenue? - Does "a single feed" mean removing the tabs entirely, or adding a combined feed while keeping the tabs as shortcuts? - How would formats with very different shapes sit together: full-screen vertical videos next to photo posts, and stories or live broadcasts that expire? - Whose experience worries us most: long-time users with set habits, or new users still learning the app? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clear goal, and evidence from current tab usage about how people move between formats. - The case for and against a single feed for viewers, creators and advertisers, including ranking very different formats against each other. - Options between keeping the tabs and removing them, compared rather than reduced to yes or no. - A long-running experiment with segment cuts, a primary metric, guardrails and a decision rule set in advance. - A rollout and reversal plan that accounts for habit change and user backlash. ### Follow-up Questions - In the test, users watch more Reels but post fewer photos and share less with friends. Is that a win? - How would you rank a live broadcast, a story and a photo post against one another in one feed? - Creators who rely on one format see their reach fall after the change. How do you respond?