Instagram forcing users to login to browse

16 points by digital79 ↗ HN
I guess 2022 is the year of the "Paywall". I have been unable to view any of my favorite bands posts on Instagram without being forced to login. This is absurd! Anyone having this issue?

10 comments

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It's been like that for years, speaking as someone without an IG account. Nothing new here.
There is something new. You used to be at least able to hit someone's page, and see a few recent posts. You also could open posts in a new tab. Those actions are no longer possible - it goes straight to a login page when you hit someone's URL.
Yes then this is truly something new, you used to be able to see tip couple of posts
Does opening in a new tab still work?
no luck for me when trying to open a profile in a new tab
That's weird, I haven't been able to see stuff on insta since the first time I tried clicking a link to a friend's post, several years ago. I wonder why your experience is so different -- perhaps my friends are nobodies and your favorite bands aren't?
I never quite get these comments. You are complaining because a website does not let you consume its content without having an account and, mind you, a free account.

If you were trying to buy groceries and had no interest in Instagram but you were forced to create an Instagram account to buy the groceries, that would be a problem, but this type of comments complains that they like the content but find it unacceptable to be asked to open a free account to consume it. God forbid someone asks money for a service people want to use: how dare you ask for payment for a product I want to use.

To argue your point the content on Instagram is not theirs but the users who uploaded it. The billions they make on advertising is because of the users who upload content and the users who interact with it.

Yes, they built the structure but it's an empty house without the users content.

Truly sucks. I deactivated my insta and now even to see a public figure's feed, I am getting nudged to log in.
It makes sense from business perspective but I hate it.

If they don't know who you are, they can't send you hyper targeted ads and make more money from you. They probably get a lot of people to sign in by blocking content so it's worth it to lose the smaller group that gives up and leaves.