Inside Instagram: CEO Insights on Growth, Safety, and the Future of Social Media

Name: Instagram’s CEO (Adam Mosseri) reveals the Instagram algorithm & its secrets!
Uploaded: 2026-02-14T18:12:51.498504+00:00
Channel: SALLY
Description: Summary and key takeaways on Inside Instagram: CEO Insights on Growth, Safety, and the Future of Social Media, covering Introduction In a candid interview the

SALLY

Feb 14, 2026

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4 min read

YouTube video ID: 6JsBjsicmxo

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Introduction

In a candid interview the CEO of Instagram shares the realities behind the platform’s algorithm, creator economy, safety measures, and upcoming innovations. The conversation covers everything from daily routines to the future of smart glasses, offering practical advice for creators and users alike.

CEO Background

Started as a designer with a New York design firm while in university.
Self‑taught programming to meet client needs.
Joined a startup, then moved to Facebook (now Meta) in 2008.
Spent roughly a decade working on the Facebook app before becoming Instagram CEO.

A Day in the Life of the Instagram CEO

Mornings: prepares breakfast for three boys, tries to fit in a workout.
Office: reserves an hour for focused, solo work before a marathon of back‑to‑back meetings (often every 30 minutes) until late afternoon.
Evenings: dinner with family, optional late‑night work, then time with his wife before bed.
Personal screen time on Instagram: about 45 minutes on phone, plus additional time on desktop for work.

Evolution of Social Media

No one predicted the explosive growth of platforms; Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube each reshaped how people entertain and connect.
Global smartphone adoption, especially in emerging markets (India, Africa), drove massive user growth, while usage in mature markets has plateaued.

Instagram Usage & the Creator Economy

Instagram is seen as the birthplace of the modern influencer model.
Influencer content remains powerful because audiences trust individuals more than brands.
Branded content is the economic engine behind the creator ecosystem and is expected to stay strong for the foreseeable future.

Safety, Harassment & Mental Health

Instagram enforces strict hate‑speech rules and uses a mix of proactive tools and community reporting.
Key tools for users:
Restrict – a hidden‑block that lets users see comments without public visibility and read messages without sending read receipts.
Hidden Words – automatically filters offensive language.
Account Limits – puts the account in a safe mode during vulnerable periods.
Reports are reviewed by humans; content that violates guidelines is removed, but accounts are only deleted after repeated violations.
The CEO uses the same tools personally and emphasizes clear personal boundaries (sleep, exercise, family time) to protect his own mental health.

Teen Accounts & Parental Controls

New “teen accounts” are private by default, limit contact to known friends, block adult messaging, and silence night‑time notifications.
Parents can adjust settings; users under 16 cannot change them without parental permission.
The CEO advocates for devices to share verified age data (via Android/iOS accounts) to improve age verification.

Monetization & Creator Payments

Instagram offers three revenue streams for creators: brand partnerships, fan subscriptions, and direct platform payments.
Direct payments are challenging because they must be financially sustainable, provide meaningful payouts, and have transparent eligibility criteria.
Tests in Japan, Korea, and the US have not yet met these criteria; Instagram continues to explore viable models.

Algorithm & Engagement Secrets

Reach is a means, not an end. Creators should define clear goals (brand building, sales, community) before optimizing for reach.
Content frequency should match personal capacity and audience expectations to avoid burnout.
General trends (not absolutes):
Reels tend to generate higher engagement than photos.
Feed posts (photos, carousels, reels) reach more people than Stories.
Stories are more personal and drive friend‑to‑friend interaction.
Broadcast channels are ideal for deep engagement with a core fan base.
Key performance metrics:
Likes per reach (like rate)
Sends per reach (share rate)
Average watch time for videos
Consistency, experimentation, and niche focus are the most reliable growth strategies.

Future Technologies: Smart Glasses & AI

Meta is developing two smart‑glass concepts:
Consumer‑grade Ray‑Ban‑style glasses with camera, speakers, and microphone.
High‑end “Orion” prototype with a built‑in display and hand‑gesture navigation (currently expensive prototype).
AI‑generated content will be labeled as such; the platform will continue to improve detection and labeling to combat deep‑fakes.
Users will need to evaluate credibility by checking account age, creator history, and disclosed AI usage.

Practical Advice for Creators

Define your purpose and align content format with that goal.
Experiment with Reels, photos, carousels, and Stories to discover what resonates.
Add music to photos, captions to videos, and use carousel formats to increase dwell time.
Focus on authenticity; behind‑the‑scenes moments, warm‑up routines, and cause‑driven content perform well.
Build a recognizable niche and maintain a sustainable posting cadence.

Conclusion

The interview reveals that Instagram’s success hinges on adapting to user behavior, protecting younger audiences, and fostering authentic creator expression while navigating the challenges of monetization, AI, and emerging hardware.

Instagram will remain a central platform for authentic connection and creator growth as long as it balances innovation, safety, and clear monetization pathways for its community.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Helpful resources related to this video

If you want to practice or explore the concepts discussed in the video, these commonly used tools may help.

Instagram Marketing Book Recommended

Provides proven strategies for growing an audience and leveraging Instagram's tools, helping creators apply the CEO's advice now

Amazon →

Ring Light For Video Creators

Improves lighting for Reels and video content, boosting engagement as recommended in the interview

Amazon →

Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer

Enables smooth, professional‑looking videos for Reels, aligning with the push for high‑quality content

Amazon →

Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Supports mental health by reducing eye strain during long screen sessions, echoing the CEO's wellness tips

Amazon →

Links may be affiliate links. We only include resources that are genuinely relevant to the topic.

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Full Transcript YouTube

the million-dollar secret that the
secret to the algorithm.
>> What is the secret to the engagement?
>> There are still strict rules around hate
speech. There are a lot of things you
cannot say.
>> Don't believe everything that you see on
the internet.
>> Who's saying it? Is anybody else saying
it? Why might they be saying it?
>> Because it's going crazy.
[music]
>> Welcome to Shali. I'm really happy to
have you today on this interview. out of
the blue. What does it feel like to be
the CEO of Instagram?
>> It's an interesting opportunity. It's
something I try to be very grateful for.
Um, but it can be very different
depending on the day. So, most days, you
know, go into the office, lots of it's
not glamorous spreadsheets, meetings,
data, dashboards,
>> okay,
>> very corporate stuff. And then I'll
spend time on the road and I get to go
to amazing places and it's very, very
different. And then I go back to the
office. So, it feels like uh a lot of
responsibility. It feels really
exciting. Um, and it also can be pretty
stressful.
>> And what is your background? Because I
guess a lot of people want to know how
to become the CEO of Instagram. What is
your background exactly?
>> I had a ciruitous path into this role,
but I started as a designer. So, I
started a design firm back in New York
while I was in university. Uh, moved out
to California. I was at a startup for a
while, but I taught myself how to
program because a lot of our clients
wanted websites and
>> other applications that needed
programming. And then I eventually went
to a startup and then I eventually went
to um Facebook which is now called Meta
back in [snorts]
2008. I'm I'm very grateful for having
maybe six, seven years of professional
experience before joining the company,
but
>> this has been where I've spent most of
my professional life at this point.
>> Wow. And I'm wondering what is your
daily routine as a CEO? I remember back
in the days you would say that you would
receive uh DMs all day about having like
the blue check profile. So how is it
now?
>> So if I'm if I'm at home, it's pretty
simple. I get up, I have three boys, I
make them breakfast. I'm in charge of
breakfast. Try to get a workout in if I
can. And then I go to the office. I
always try to have an hour or so to
think and to work by myself before I get
into the meetings.
>> Okay? And then it's just meeting meeting
meeting.
Uh usually every 30 minutes until 4:00
or 5:00 p.m. Uh then some more time to
do a little bit of work and then rush
home, try to get to dinner with the
kids.
>> Yeah.
>> If I need to come back online afterwards
after they go to sleep, great. Um if I
don't, maybe I get an hour or two to
hang out with my wife and then go to bed
and do it again.
>> And do it again.
>> Yeah.
>> And you just told me that you used to
work with Facebook.
>> I did.
>> Um
>> 10 years I worked on the Facebook app.
>> 10 years. Can you imagine social media
today is like everywhere everywhere is
everybody's using it with the background
of working with Facebook and Instagram.
Is there a moment where you expected
social media to become this big
>> this quickly?
>> I don't think any of us really expected
us the industry to end up where it is
today cuz it is it's evolved a lot.
Things are changing more and more
quickly. Uh there's more and more
competition, right? how people entertain
themselves, how they connect with
friends has changed. I don't think we
would have foreseen Snapchat back when I
started at uh Facebook that we were most
focused on Twitter back then. Tik Tok
has completely changed how people
entertain themselves. YouTube is
enormous.
>> Yeah.
>> But it's been wild. I mean I think a
huge thing that has been driving a lot
of our growth is that the amount of time
and the amount of people that sorry the
amount of people that have smartphones
and the amount of time that they spend
on smartphones you know has been growing
>> uh particularly around the world in
countries where there wasn't always
really fast internet whereas in
countries like France and the US that
amount of time has sort of plateaued um
but that was a sort of a tide that
lifted all boats for a very very long
time as people became came online in
India as internet connections start to
get faster in Africa and then yes as
people in the US and Europe and you know
more developed countries in Asia like
Japan and Korea uh were using their
phones more and more before they sort of
hit a peak.
>> Yeah. And what about you? How long or
how much time do you spend on the on the
app yourself?
>> It's going to underount it a little bit
cuz I'm cuz I'm at work a lot. I use it
on um desktop as well, which isn't going
to get counted in screen time. I
probably do something like 45 minutes a
day is my guess.
>> That's it.
>> Uh on my phone.
>> Oh wow.
>> Uh this week it's 2 hours and 39 minutes
a day, but I've been on the road so I'm
doing a lot of talking to creators,
posting about it, etc. Whereas if I'm at
home, maybe on the phone it's an hour a
day and then probably another half an
hour, an hour on the desktop, you know,
because I'm using my computer at the
office.
>> But it's not that much. I was expecting
way more.
>> Well, it's a lot of email, a lot of
WhatsApp texting, a lot of documents and
spreadsheets. Again, a lot of the job is
not that
my case because that's what I wanted to
talk about with you. As a content
creator, I use Instagram a lot. So
basically my screen time is probably I'd
say 6 hour on the app which is okay but
Instagram was definitely to me is the
birthplace of the influence model with
people um well showing their lifestyles
and having partnerships and collabs with
brands. I want to know what is your take
on the influence model? Do you think
that it's something that is going to
last or do you feel like it's a wave
that might like disappear? I think it's
here to stay for a while. In a world
where more and more people are skeptical
of what they hear directly from brands
and from corporations, they're much more
interested in hearing from individuals
that they admire.
>> And we're seeing power shift from
institutions to individuals across
industries. You're seeing players are
more relevant than the teams that they
play for in a way that wasn't true, you
know, a decade or two ago. journalists
are building up brands outside of the
publications that they work for way more
than was happening a decade or two ago
and more and more so across music
entertainment. You know, you pick your
vertical. And so in that world, I feel
like people are going to
be interested in hearing what products,
what brands, the people they trust
trust. And so I think that is that
branded content is the economic engine
behind the creator ecosystem. And I
think that's I mean in the the whole
world will change I'm sure a lot in the
next 10 20 30 years
>> but in the foreseeable future I think
that's probably going to be stronger not
less strong.
>> One of the criticism that sometime
Instagram did face was uh the rise of
the Instagrammable aesthetic everything
extremely polished
>> uh FOMO also because everybody's showing
their best profiles and best lives and
everybody's wondering how they achieved
it. everybody's comparing to each other.
Uh anxiety sometime depression. Uh is it
something that you have thought about or
noticed as the CEO of Instagram?
>> It's definitely something that we've
thought about and talk about and try to
work on. One of the things that we've
tried to do is give people more ways to
share that are less pressurized.
>> Okay.
>> And so actually if you look at how
people share photos and videos on
Instagram, even if you take out all
text, there are more photos and videos
shared into DMs than there are shared
into stories. And there's a lot more and
there's a lot more photos and videos
shared into stories than into the feed.
And the most pressurized experience is
the feed experience. And that's what
people associate us with because that's
where we started.
>> Yeah.
>> But it's actually the least important
place in terms of where people share and
then for young people it's actually the
least important place in terms of where
they consume content. They spend more
time in DMs and in stories than they do
in feed. So, we're trying to
depressurize the experience and create
>> spaces in the app where people feel more
comfortable being more authentic and
less polished and it's I think working
by and large if you look at how people
are using the app but how people think
of the app
>> takes more time to shift
>> and uh let's talk about harassment as
well you know harassment is now big
problem on social media and social
network especially for the teens
especially for the young peoples and
young kids what is something that
Instagram is trying to do or pushing to
do to make sure that harassment is not
this problematic on the app.
>> Our job as a Instagram is to do two
things online. One is to do everything
we can to prevent harassment and
bullying from happening in the first
place, particularly to young people. And
then two is to accept that given some is
going to inevitably slip through the
cracks, build ways for the targets of
bullying and harassment to take some
power back and to protect themselves.
>> Okay? And so, you know, we have rules
about what can and cannot be said on the
app. We have to be careful because, you
know, censoring people and taking
content down entirely is a a pretty
aggressive
uh tool, but we do use it. So, there's
things you cannot do to harass specific
people, and if we see it, we take it
down. But we also try to do things
proactively. So, if you comment
something mean or you post something
mean, we say it maybe doesn't violate
the rules exactly, but it pushes the
line.
>> Okay?
>> We say, "Are you sure you want to post
this?" And then a lot of people post it
anyway, but some people don't. And so
you you try to add up these tools over
time. But then for people who are going
to in sensitive moments or who are
experiencing harassment, we've got tools
like the account limits. Uh the one that
my favorite is restrict, which was
designed specifically to help uh teens
who are the targets of bullying. Uh
hidden words is also really powerful.
I'll talk briefly about restrict because
it was it came out of conversations with
teens about what they were doing when
they were bullied on Instagram and they
we asked why don't you just block the
account?
>> Yeah.
>> And they consistently told us two
things. One, they needed to know what
the person was saying about them because
they wanted to defend themselves at
school with their friends the next day.
And two, fear of escalation. If they
blocked the other person, the person
would know and that would actually make
it worse when they go to school the next
day. So, restrict was designed to be a
shadow or a secret block. Um, where if
they comment on your post, it looks like
they commented, but nobody else can see
unless you approve it. If they message
you, you can see the message without
sending a read receipt. All these little
ways to help you protect yourself from
this person who is harassing you,
without them knowing, so that you can
keep tabs on what they're saying and you
can avoid escalating the situation. Now
again, that's not going to solve
bullying entirely, but you add these
tools up, blocking specific words that
are, you know, doing that by default,
being able to customize those words,
restrict account limits, so which is to
put your account in a safe mode when
you're maybe switching high schools or
you went through a breakup and you
really want to protect yourself on top
of all of the actual hard rules around
what you can say, algorithms to identify
that content, labelers to label that
content, and then content takedowns. It
adds up and it adds up and adds up. That
doesn't mean that there isn't any
bullying or harassment on the platform.
Of course there is. There's over two
billion people on the platform. But
yeah, I'm proud of the progress we've
made so far.
>> Does it really work when you report an
account on Instagram? Because for
example, they harass you da da and you
report them. Does it actually work?
Because I'm not going to lie, I did it a
lot of times. Does it really work? Does
the account
>> get deleted or not? So if you report
something uh for harassment or bullying,
it will get reviewed by a person and
they'll decide does it cross the line or
not from our community guidelines which
are public. You can see them if you want
online. And if the content violates
those guidelines, we take that piece of
content down.
>> Okay?
>> We don't take the account down
necessarily unless they have a certain
number of violations. So you can have
you can make a mistake or a few mistakes
and that's okay depending on the type of
mistake.
>> Okay. Um, but then eventually we take
the account down entirely.
>> And do they get a notice like a
notification that I'm the one who
>> No, no, no. It's anonymous cuz otherwise
again that would escalate this. But you
can actually see if
>> if you have a piece of content taken
down, one of your pieces of content,
>> if you go to your profile and to account
status, you can see if you've had
anything taken down. Okay?
>> And then if you think it was a mistake,
you can appeal that decision, which is
important because sometimes we do make
mistakes. Uh, so you're trying to
balance both sides, you know, making
sure we're keeping people safe, but also
making sure that we're not censoring
people or taking down content that we
shouldn't.
>> Sure. What is your own approach to
mental health, not only on Instagram,
but even for yourself?
>> Well, so on Instagram with harassment,
and I get I get some as well, cuz
anytime we make a change people don't
like, or we take a piece of content down
people don't like, I can get a lot of uh
angry comments and DMs. I use hidden
words a lot where I block specific words
for my comments in my DMs and then I
just restrict people a lot. Uh we talked
about that briefly earlier. It was
designed for teens, but it's very very
powerful for creators.
>> But broadly for mental health, I think
it's just very important to be clear
about what you need to maintain your
mental well-being and then to try and
protect those things. So, I know that I
need to, you know, sleep a certain
amount. I know that I'm much happier if
I get some time in with my kids, ideally
in the morning and the evening, but at
least once. I know that I uh am I show
up more as I want to show up if I can
exercise in a given day. So, I try to
protect those things as best I can and
sometimes I do and sometimes I fail. Um,
but overall
I'm able to maintain sort of the pace
and the work and the responsibilities
even at home as a dad better because I
am clear about those things that I know
I need most.
>> And that's very interesting. Well, a bit
indiscreet question, but would you allow
your kids to be on Instagram and social
media? Are they already? I don't know.
>> They're too young. So, no, not yet. But
yes, um my kids are 9, seven, and almost
five, and you're not allowed to be on
Instagram until you're 13.
>> Okay.
>> But I think that with teen accounts,
which is a version of Instagram designed
to be safe for teens, it's something
that I would be supportive of. You're
not allowed to use Instagram till you're
13. But I also think ultimately a parent
knows best. Maybe my eldest will be
ready at 13 and maybe my middle one
won't be ready until 14 or 15, right?
are different people with different
risks and different concerns and I know
that as a father in a way that no
platform or no government official can
know the difference between my first,
second, and third son. But yeah, I think
for for teens being private, only being
able to be messaged by people that
you're connected to, only being able to
see content that is age appropriate and
safe. I think Instagram will allow them
to explore their interests and then to
connect with their friends about those
interests
>> as well.
>> Uh that's my hope, but we'll see. We'll
see when when Nico, my eldest, is 13.
Um,
is he going to be ready? I don't know
yet now. I think probably, but I'll I
want to make sure that I'm thoughtful
about that decision as a parent because
ultimately
>> um I'm responsible for them,
>> of course. Oh, by the way, let's talk
about teen accounts because you talked
about it.
>> Um, I think it's a new thing that you
are launching. What is it exactly about?
So teen accounts are an automatic set of
protections for teens who use Instagram
that hopefully will give some parents
some peace of mind. If parents want to
get involved, they can actually shape
the settings and the experience into
what's appropriate for their child, but
they don't have to cuz we know a lot of
parents are busy and don't necessarily
have the time. So basically, it's
they're private by default. There we're
very careful about what content you have
access to. We are very careful about who
can contact you. So you can only be
contacted by by people you're connected
to. Adults can't message you, that sort
of thing. And a series of there's they
don't notifications aren't on at night
time. So we want to make sure we protect
sleep.
>> We remind you to leave the app [snorts]
once you hit an hour in a given day.
>> Lots of settings like this.
>> Yeah.
>> And if you're under 16, you can't change
any of those settings without your
parents permission. Uh so if you're 13,
14 or 15 and you want to have a public
account, you can ask, but you have to
connect with your parent and then your
parent has to say yes.
>> Okay.
>> Um so the idea is if you're 16 or 17,
it's private by default, but you can
actually change it if you want. The idea
is to try and take a lot of the work
that we had already done, look for uh,
you know, inconsistencies and
opportunities to improve it further and
then package it all up into one easy to
understand experience for both teens and
for parents.
>> And I think it's very important to
remind everyone that Instagram, as you
said, is limited. You must be 13 and
over to be on Instagram. Because
nowadays, even in my in my close
friends, not going to say any name, but
I know that some kids do have access to
a phone and Instagram when they're
actually under 13.
>> It's easy to lie about your age. Uh, and
it's hard for us to tell the difference
sometimes. So, you know, if there's a
12-year-old and a 13-year-old
>> and they both said that they were 13,
downloaded Instagram, posted 20 photos
of their life and a profile picture and
their name. It's hard for us to tell
which one's 12 and which one's 13.
>> Yeah.
>> Which is why we are consistently trying
to advocate for not only the work that
we do to try to predict age and get
better at that, but for some controls
built in at the phone level. So, I have
three boys. They don't have phones, but
they do have tablets. Each of their
tablets knows exactly how old they are
because I set them up.
>> Okay.
>> Um, so your tablet actually has your
age. you know, my phone has my age.
Whether it's Android or iOS, it actually
has your age because you have a Google
or Apple account that has your age. I
think Instagram and all apps should be
able to ask the user for access to that
birthday because then that age is much
more trusted and it's much more
difficult for a 12-year-old to lie if
their parent told their tablet that they
are 12 or their phone that they are 12.
And you can do this already, right? You
can ask, you've seen, you've used a
phone and it's asked you for access to
your camera, access to your microphone,
access to your location. These are
really sensitive pieces of information
that the app can ask for. And you can
say yes and you can say no. I think the
app should be able to ask for access to
your birthday, too, cuz the phone knows
it. And that would be a much much more
trusted birthday, which would help us
get more teens who lie about their age
into teen accounts, which is more
appropriate for them.
>> Absolutely. And what I like about the
teen account is also the fact that it's
private because nowadays there is this
it's not even nowadays it's been a
problem since always of minor being on
app posting photos on app and it's
public and it's actually very dangerous
for them as well.
>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, young people, I
mean, in some ways, it's super important
for them to be able to connect with
friends and explore their interests, but
it's also more important for us to keep
them safe and be honest about the fact
that sometimes they make more mistakes.
>> And so, being careful about not only
what you post, but who can see it, uh,
who you interact with, understanding
that people on the internet might not be
who they say they are. These are things
that you know sometimes take time to
learn and the platforms have a
responsibility to take steps to you know
minimize the risk and I think parents
need to speak to their children about
those risks so that they can help
educate them on how to make good
choices.
>> Absolutely. And now let's talk about
Instagram because I'm actually having a
speech with the CEO. Um a lot of
subscribers ask a lot of questions. Oh
yeah yeah yeah
>> yeah yeah yeah yeah because you know
that the main topic on Instagram is
always engagement. Yes, I do have many
questions for you about the app
especially because as I said before
Instagram was the birthplace of
influence for me and this whole model
but um unlike for example Tik Tok or
YouTube creators don't get monetized uh
on views that they do that they make on
Instagram
>> um why this choice why this specific
choice
>> so I would say that YouTube has done an
amazing job with uh direct payments
we've been trying to but it's been we've
had trouble making it sustainable
Um, and I'll go back into that into a
second, but if you back all the way up,
there's three ways creators can get paid
from a platform. You can get paid from
brands, you can get paid from fans with
things like subscriptions, which we've
also built, and that you can get paid
from the platform directly. In terms of
being paid from the platform directly,
>> my position is that for that to be
sustainable, for us to be able to bring
that all over the world, the program
needs to meet three success criteria.
The it needs to not lose money, right?
We can't just be burning money.
>> It needs to the checks need to not be
embarrassing. If I write you a check for
€2.50,
you might just be offended and
rightfully so. And then the criteria
around eligibility need to be
transparent. So you need to know what do
you need to do to be part of the
program. It can't be some black box.
Maybe it's you need to have 500,000
views a month or something like that.
something clear and easy to understand.
So, we've been working on this. We've
been testing in Japan, in Korea at
times, and in the US.
>> Um, but we have not been able to get
that to meet those criteria yet. Even
the first one, when we pay people to
create more reels and more content, they
do create some more,
>> okay?
>> But not much more.
>> And the incremental the new content they
create is less good on average than the
stuff they would have produced other
anyway.
>> Okay? So yes, they produce a little bit
more content, but it's not as great. And
it grows the amount of time people use
Instagram, but only a little bit. So the
amount of more money we make is much
less than the payments we make.
>> So it's just burning money.
>> Okay?
>> And there are tens of millions of
creators around the world, and you can
imagine maybe there's hundreds of
thousands or millions that would be
large enough that might be eligible at
some point, which means that would be
billions of dollars a year, and we would
be burning most of it. And at the end of
the day, I want to be honest, we're a
business and so that doesn't just make
any sense.
>> Okay,
>> we might get there. Uh YouTube has
gotten there. I also think YouTube has
gotten there with long form video.
>> Absolutely.
>> And they use that to subsidize their
short form payments.
>> That's true.
>> Facebook, interestingly, has gotten
there. Facebook does pay pretty well for
long form videos.
>> Really?
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> I'm not on Facebook anymore. Not a lot.
Maybe I should go back.
>> I mean, it depends on the creator. Um,
but I've been hearing more and more from
creators who said they never would have
considered Facebook a year or two ago
that it's doing really well for them in
certain verticals.
>> Okay.
>> I think YouTube is actually the best at
payouts and I think Facebook's the
second best and I think the rest of us
have struggled to make it work.
>> One of the question that I've received a
lot is that back in the days Instagram
was well famously known for uh the
photos, the square photos especially
>> only square photos. only square. No DMs,
no stories, no videos, no reals,
>> absolutely nothing, just square photos.
And the question that I get asked a lot
is
>> stories, reals, lives as well. Exactly.
Do you feel sometimes like uh Instagram
kind of lost its DNA and was trying to
maybe not copy but get inspired by other
platforms and that now Instagram is like
all the platforms within one but lost
the DNA?
>> So I would say a few things. One is the
heart of Instagram is helping people
connect with friends, express their
creativity, and explore their interests.
And those things have stayed true. How
you do that has changed cuz how people
do those things in the world has
changed.
>> True.
>> And I would say not only have we been
inspired by, but at times we have
straight up copied competitors that came
up with new ways to do those things
really well. And because for us, I think
it would be it's better to evolve
forward than to stay the same because we
wouldn't be speaking today if Instagram
was just a feed of square photos. That's
not how people use Instagram. It would
be way less important. You would be
doing this interview with somebody else
who worked on a different platform. The
biggest risk for a platform like ours is
that the world changes and we don't
change with it and then we slowly but
surely become irrelevant.
>> It's very honest for you to say that.
>> I think it's important to be honest.
Now, look, I don't love that it's so
complicated. So, I'm trying to figure
out ways to simplify it,
>> okay?
>> For creators, I also don't want creators
to feel like they have to use all the
tools. We offer a suite of ways to build
your audience. You should pick the ones
that make sense for you as a creator
that are aligned with your goals and
that can actually build an audience.
Maybe it's broadcast channels, maybe
it's reals, maybe it's photos and
carousels, you know, maybe it's mostly
stories. That's okay. Don't feel like
you have to use all of them,
>> okay?
>> But we have to build that suite because
otherwise Snapchat, YouTube, Tik Tok,
you know, would have been way bigger
than they are today and we would be way
smaller and then you would reach way
less people as a creator and then we
wouldn't be doing this interview.
>> I love the transparency. Honestly, I
love it. Well, actually, you were
talking we were talking about stories,
uh, photos and feed. The question that
everybody's wondering which one drives
the most engagement because Instagram is
always about engagement and I think that
creators and even normal users wants to
see engagement on the stories that they
post the picture that they post. So it's
the question it's like the the
milliondoll secret to the algorithm.
>> What is the secret to the engagement? Is
it stories? Is it posting every day on
your feed? What is it?
>> So this is not going to be a satisfying
answer for you but I will be honest. So
a few different things. One is to start.
Reach is obviously important, but I
don't think reach is the end goal.
>> Okay,
>> you I think it's important particularly
as a creator to be clear. Reach to what
end? Are you trying to build a brand?
Are you trying to sell a product? Are
you trying to evangelize a cause? Are
you trying to pull together a community?
Because I think that that's the real
thing that you want. And then reach is a
means to that end. So when you first
start to use the platform, actually I
think I don't I think you should do this
as a creator at least once or twice a
year. It's important to be really clear
and honest with yourself about what your
goal is. Then you need to figure out a
strategy that not only aligns with your
goal, but also is going to be engaging.
People want to see and interact with
that content and is one that you can
sustain.
>> Okay? Because, you know, let's say you
want to build a brand and you think that
the best way to do that is to post five
times a day. You know, your hot takes on
what's happening in the world, but you
just cannot produce five videos a day.
Then that's not a good strategy. You
have to find something that's at the
overlap, something you can sustain,
something that's going to resonate with
an audience, and something that actually
achieves your goal.
>> Okay?
>> Because if it doesn't do one of those
things, it's not going to work. If you
can't sustain it, you're going to burn
out. If it doesn't, if it isn't
engaging, then no one's going to see it.
So, you're not going to achieve your
goal. And if it's not aligned with your
goal, then why are you doing it in the
first place? Okay, so that's sort of the
macro the broader picture. Now, in terms
of how to actually drive the most
engagement, the answer, and this is why
it's unsatisfying, is different for
different creators. I've seen creators
be very successful posting once or twice
a month. You know, Rick Rubin posts and
then he only has one post at any given
time and he deletes the last post and he
posts once every week or two. You know,
KSI posts, you know, not that frequently
and has a huge following. I've also seen
creators find a lot of success posting a
lot. You know, Haley Bailey is a
comedian out of New York. She posts five
different videos on every platform she
uses every day. That is an insane amount
of content. I do not recommend people
try and do that, but she has that
energy. She has that output. she's
prolific and it works for her. So, I
think the key thing is to experiment and
find something that works for you. Um,
there are things that are generally
true, but not 100% true. So, generally
speaking, reals are more engaging than
photos.
>> Okay?
>> We've tried to make photos more engaging
by making them allowing carousels,
allowing you to add music to them. These
things can help, but on average, people
like and comment and interact with reals
more than they interact with photos and
videos. And so if there is a video
strategy to be had, I recommend trying.
>> But if you don't have one, don't force
it. That's okay.
>> In general, feed posts, whether they're
reals, photos, or carousels, are going
to get more reach than stories,
>> okay?
>> Cuz stories are mostly for your friends.
And so
>> we're going to rank friend content
higher than creator content on for most
people because that's going to drive
more messages because you're more likely
to message your friend than message a
creator that you don't know. Broadcast
channels are not the best way to reach
the most people.
>> Yeah.
>> But they're a great way to reach your
most passionate fans directly.
>> If you're trying to build a subscription
business, if you're trying to really
engage a community that really loves
what you do, they're a better strategy
than feed. Even though feed reaches more
people technically.
>> Yeah.
>> So again, it's again back to what's your
goal and why and then evaluate these
different tools through that lens. And
then you have to try things. I've tried
lots of things and some of them work,
some of them don't.
>> Yeah.
>> Is it true what they say when um they
say that comments is more important that
saves or saves is more important than
comments and comments is more important
than likes? What is it? Is it true or is
it nonsense? Actually,
>> if you're trying to evaluate how
something did, I think reach is the most
useful way to understand how well
something did, but it doesn't tell you
why. So if you want to understand why a
post got a lot of reach, I think the
three things to look at that are most
important are the amount of likes per
reach. So that's like the like rate. So
if a 100 people saw it and five people
liked it, that's a 5% like rate. The
amount of sends per reach.
>> Okay?
>> So how many people sent it to a friend?
This is a message. Again, you have to,
you know, divide the number of sends by
the amount of people who saw it because
more, you know, if we show it to 100
people and no one likes it or sends it,
then it's a sign that it's not that
interesting and it's not going to reach
more people. And then if it's a video,
the amount of watch time, the average
watch time, those three matter most.
Saves matter, comments matter, lots of
other things matter, but they, you know,
if you tap on the profile, if you follow
the account, um, but those three are the
ones that matter most. Okay, that's
interesting because everybody's always
wondering, is it still possible to be
viral on Instagram? Is it still possible
to make it through Instagram?
>> We see it happen and we're trying to
we're trying to make sure whether or not
it's someone going viral, we're trying
to make sure smaller creators can grow
and that not it's not only the big
creators who can continue to command the
most reach. Um, and we definitely see
things go viral. Um, but there's more
and more competition. If there is more
creators posting more often, that means
Instagram grows and the overall amount
of time and attention and reach grows.
So the pie grows, but the pie doesn't
grow as much as the amount of content.
>> Yeah.
>> So if there's a million more things in
Instagram in a given day, there's not a
million more things seen on Instagram in
that given day. There might be, you
know, I don't know, 50,000 things. So
I'll use smaller numbers. For every
hundred new things, extra things created
on Instagram in a given day, this is not
a real number, but let's say there's
roughly five more things seen. So that
means the average reach per creator goes
down. That competition is very real.
>> So the tip should be stay consistent. It
would be the biggest tip.
>> I mean, that's one of the consistency
really matters. Trying things and
learning really matters because also
what works this year might not work next
year.
>> Yeah, that's true. making sure your
photos and video so your photos and
carousels are as engaging as possible by
adding things like music really matters.
Uh if it's a video, adding captions
because half the time someone sees a
video there's no audio on so they won't
hear the audio. That's true.
>> So that will that really matters. These
are best practices. But
>> you know whether or not even to use
reals or not is something you're going
to have to try out as a creator.
>> And I would say um personally if I could
give a tip um it's finding your niche.
>> Yeah. and finding your identity first of
all within yourself to share it to the
world because you know Instagram has
been one of the platform that helped the
most when it comes to representation as
well and for everybody I think everybody
find thanks to Instagram a group of
people that look like them or
>> think like them and that's the best part
and I think that people on Instagram
before thinking I want to be big on
Instagram I want to go viral on
Instagram should be to think why and
especially who to who yeah
>> um who do I want to represent who do I
want to identify as who do I want to
embody or you know it's very important I
think a lot of people sometimes forget
that that social media is also about
sending messages or at least
representing something so what do you
want to represent like why are you on
social media for you know sometimes I
feel like people forget that so yeah
that's just me
>> telling you that
>> I agree with that
>> we actually talked a lot And I would
like to ask you where do you see
Instagram in 5 to 10 years?
>> Ooh 5 to 10 years is hard. Um
>> it's close and far at the same time.
>> So I think right now most of how we
connect with not only friends but
information is through a phone like a
little glowing 6 in rectangle. I think
that'll still be true in for the next
couple years probably at least the next
five. But I do think in 10 I don't know
if it's 10 years or 7 years or 15 years
away, I think that's going to change. I
don't think phones are going to go away,
but I think we're going to have other
ways that we use to connect with um
information, whether it's being
entertained or connecting with friends
or expressing ourselves. I I think one
of the ways is going to be
>> glasses.
>> Glasses.
>> Um I think that I mean it's it's really
really early. Um but you know we are
work we have a partnership with Rayban
called Rayban Metas where we make smart
glasses. People think of them as cameras
because they do have a camera and you
can take pictures and
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But they also
have speakers and a microphone so you
can take phone calls, listen to podcasts
or um I listen to audio books on them a
lot. That's on one end of the spectrum,
the simplest. the other end. We've got
these crazy smart glasses called Orion
where you could they have a you can't
see it from the outside, but there's a
screen built in and we can have an
entire operating system and you can use
your hand to navigate. We've got a
prototype of this.
>> Oh, wow.
>> We can't build them at scale yet cuz
they they cost, you know, they would be
like €10,000 per pair, which is not so
we're not selling them. Doesn't make any
sense because it's still a research
project.
>> But that's the other end of the
spectrum.
>> That's crazy. those two things are going
to come together and is it in three
years that it happens at it'll it'll
happen soon but it will happen in a way
that's affordable and a good experience
so that we all have them I don't know if
that's 3 years away 5 years away 10
years away but when that happens how you
use use Instagram is going to change
because part of what we do you asked
about do we lose our identity part of
identity was connecting with friends
these are going to be part of that
absolutely
>> and so what does Instagram look like in
a world
>> where this is one of the more important
devices you use is something we don't
have an answer to yet.
>> It kind of sounds like Black Mirror
though.
>> We have to Well, I think there's a lot
of things to be concerned about. How
does privacy work? How do you know when
the camera is on and when is the camera
not?
>> How do you control your data and make
sure that like you feel good about what
you capture wearing the glasses?
>> Cuz it's not like you have a pair of Ray
Benas now.
>> It's not taking pictures as you're
walking around, right? You know, you're
in control.
>> But how do we maintain that? Um, so
there's a lot of things to to to be
considerate of, but there's a lot of
amazing things about it, too. Like, I
went to Disneyland with my kids and sat
on the roller coaster and shot a video
in the front just looking at my kids,
screaming, going [laughter] around.
Like, I have that memory now forever.
I'll share it with them forever.
>> Um, and it's kind of an amazing way to
to capture an experience.
>> And we have five minute left. So, I have
three last questions.
>> Okay. I'll be I'll be less verbose.
>> First is a big one. It's actually a big
one that a lot of people are concerned
about that on January 7, uh Mark
Zuckerberg announced like a radical
loosening of content moderation rules on
Facebook and on Instagram in the name of
freedom of speech, but multiple
associations have noticed and reported
that it has opened the door quote to
hate speech, racism, homophobia, and
more. For example, comments like Mexican
immigrants are trash, black people are
more violent than white people, or Jews
are greedier than Christians are now
allowed. I know that you're not Mark
Zuckerberg, but as a CEO of Instagram,
what measures have you taken to make
sure and to prevent this kind of shift
on your platform?
>> So, I do want to clarify the changes.
There are series of changes. The first
was some policy changes that allowed
those examples. There are still strict
rules around hate speech. There are a
lot of things you cannot say. Uh there's
nine protected groups. You cannot
compare any of them to any kind of
animal or vermin or disease. Uh there's
a lot of things you still cannot say. We
were trying to make space for some of
the debates that are happening. Okay.
>> And trying to balance this safety and
and and speech. There's a US bias to
that point of view, but we are a
US-based company. Uh, and I do think
there is a cost to taking down content
that, you know, might be offensive, but,
you know, is fundamentally not unsafe.
>> Um, and so that's the balance. We're
always trying to get that balance right.
And there's I do think it's important
that people can say things even that I
disagree with and even that I find
offensive as long as it's not dangerous.
>> So, that was one change. There were
other changes too about um proactive
enforcement. So, you know, when do we go
and find content using technology and
take it down versus when do we wait for
reports? For less severe issues, we are
now relying much more on reports and
less on proactive because we're making
tons of mistakes in the proactive. So,
if we take down a 100 things and we were
wrong about 25 or 30 just using
technology and algorithms, that's not a
really great trade-off. Um, so there's
changes there too, but there's still a
lot of strong protections and there's
particularly really con consistently
strong protections for youth. So
wherever possible, we maintain or even
strengthen the protections for youth.
Trying to find the right balance, we are
going to consistently get criticism on
both sides. A lot of people think down
think we take down way too much. A lot
of people think we take down way too
little. Nobody wants us to take down
their stuff. Everybody wants us to take
down the stuff that they disagree with.
That is what it means to be a platform
at scale. and we accept that. Um I think
the important thing is that we not only
try to make good decisions but we
communicate them uh proactively and
we're transparent about the reasoning
behind them.
>> And what about AI with the development
of AI? How uh Instagram? How are you
trying to make sure that especially deep
fakes for example?
>> Yeah,
>> it's going to be tough. So we so
anything that you use any of our tools
you use to create images or videos are
going to be labeled as such. So you know
that it's AI because I think that's the
responsible thing for anybody using
these tools to do. But we don't build
all the tools. People build tools um you
know don't work for meta and then people
create content and they post it.
>> We can try and detect it but that
content is going to get more and more
real looking.
>> And so I think what that means is in a
world where you cannot trust that a
photo or video you see is actually
authentic. I think it puts more pressure
on all of us considering not only is the
photo or video believable but do you
trust the person saying it? Um because
that still matters a lot and you can
think about all right who's this person
what are where you know what are their
incentives why might they be saying this
and then you can decide do you want to
believe what you see and we as a
platform can do yes label AI content as
generated with AI
>> but also give people more information
about who they're hearing from where is
this account based how long has this
account been on Instagram
>> things like that that can give you some
signs of credibility.
>> Yeah.
>> Cuz Instagram aside, we're moving to a
world where there's going to be photos
and images that look very real.
>> Yeah.
>> We can take a picture of you, a video of
me, and like the voice of the cameraman,
and we can like put it all together and
make it look like something that never
happened happened. That's coming. Um
that's that's it's already a lot of that
is already here. And so we are all going
to need to do our part to help people
make better decisions about what to
trust. Education, parents, governments,
and certainly platforms as well. And
then us as readers and consumers.
>> Definitely. And people having to do
their researches. That's why I'm always
telling to my community, make your
research. Don't believe everything that
you see on the internet. Double check
all the time.
>> Double check. Who's saying it? Is
anybody else saying it? Why might they
be saying it?
>> Because it's going crazy. A lot of
people are going to listen to your
answer. As a CEO of Instagram, what is
the content you would like to see more?
>> I really love I'll tell you the types of
things I love. I love and I think this
does better on the platform when people
can be more authentic.
>> Okay,
>> back to that conversation we had earlier
about pressure to be perfect and sort of
is this like people only showing their
best self.
>> Yeah,
>> people are tired of seeing everybody
else's best self. They want to see what
it's really like to be in your shoes, to
be in my shoes, to be in someone else's
life. And so I love it when people share
things like backstage before a musician
backstage before playing at a concert.
Okay.
>> Or footballer warm-ups actually do
really well on Instagram, not just the
game highlights which you can find
anywhere else, but these little
behindthe-scenes type content.
>> I also love when people use our
different products in new ways that we
didn't expect.
>> I met someone once who followed a
different set of accounts every month
and then unfollowed everybody and
followed another set of accounts and it
always had a theme. uh girls education,
climate change, you know, uh LGBTQ
rights. And I suggested, oh, you should
make a video on the first of the month
explaining why cuz people can go see who
you follow and then follow them as well.
And you can be advocating for this
person was advocating for causes. That
kind of thing where you you're playing
around with the product in ways for us
as we built it, but really creative
ways. That's the most fun and exciting
for me.
>> Any content creators that you might want
to shout out? I mean, I I am always
looking for more new and interesting
creators. I I'm trying to think if
there's any here in France. So, there's
actually we're talking about AI. Uh
there's a account called if only.ai.
>> Okay.
>> And he's a AI artist.
>> Okay.
>> Always labels everything as AI and he
creates these images that are like
dreams and they're beautiful. He
actually uses three or four different
tools and he makes them into videos. But
if you want to see some of the positive
that can come from some of these
technologies and this creativity and
this sort of dreamlike um movement, um I
think it's a pretty cool one to see
which is sort of the opposite of you,
you know, a lot of the other things I
love, which is like seeing creators
show, you know, how they do what they
do. Um but uh but it's a cool one
>> as usual. Thank you for your answers and
I hope that it will help a lot of people
not only to grow bigger on Instagram but
to feel safe and authentic. [music]
>> Authentic.
[music]

Help & FAQ

Be Smart

Tim Ferriss

Apr 04, 2026

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Introduction

CEO Background

A Day in the Life of the Instagram CEO

Evolution of Social Media

Instagram Usage & the Creator Economy

Safety, Harassment & Mental Health

Teen Accounts & Parental Controls

Monetization & Creator Payments

Algorithm & Engagement Secrets

Future Technologies: Smart Glasses & AI

Practical Advice for Creators

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is SALLY on YouTube?

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