News

Instagram Tests Vertical Profile Grids Instead Of Squares

A company spokesperson says the “limited test” is happening because the “vast majority” of Instagram uploads are vertically-oriented content.

Published

2 years ago

August 19, 2024

Nour Nasir

Instagram is testing a potentially major change to profile pages: making the squares in your profile grid vertical rectangles. Some users recently spotted the test, and there have been indications from at least 2022 that the company has toyed with a rectangular grid.

“The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical,” Instagram chief Adam Mosseri explained in a Story on Friday, August 16, discussing the test. “It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal”.

Mosseri revealed that “squares are from way back in the day when you could only upload square photos to Instagram,” a limitation the platform removed nearly a decade ago. Mosseri told users that the company knows that the changes may be annoying for those who have spent a great deal of effort and time “curating and making sure everything lines up” but says, “I would really like to do better by the content today”.

“We’re testing a vertical profile grid with a small number of people,” Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai said in a recent statement to journalists. “This is a limited test, and we’ll be listening to feedback from the community before rolling anything out further”.

So it looks as though perfectionists who have planned out their profile grids around squares might be a little annoyed when the entire site moves over to vertical rectangle content.

Also Read: How To Permanently Delete Your Instagram Account

Here’s the full transcript of Mosseri’s explanation:

“We’re actually testing a vertical grid, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, for your profile, instead of squares. Now, squares are from way back in the day when you can only upload square photos to Instagram. I know this can be annoying for some of you who really spent a lot of time curating and making sure everything lines up, but I would really like to do better by the content today. The vast majority of what is uploaded to Instagram today is vertical. It’s either 4 by 3 in a photo or 9 by 16 in a video, and cropping it down to square is pretty brutal. So, I’m hoping we can figure out a way to manage this transition”.

News

For etisalat, More Bandwidth Is A Matter Of Digital Sovereignty

The etisalat group plans to expand its international capacity from 20 Tbps to more than 500 Tbps by 2030, with new routes designed for speed and resilience.

Published

2 days ago

October 6, 2026

Nour Nasir

for etisalat, more bandwidth is a matter of digital sovereignty

Emirates News Agency

By 2030, etisalat group plans to lift its international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second (Tbps), more than 25 times the 20 Tbps it has today. The group presented the expansion as preparation for rising AI demand and an important move for the UAE’s digital sovereignty.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, witnessed the launch of the project, which covers the UAE and international markets. Sheikh Mansour is also Chairman of the Emirates Investment Authority, etisalat group’s main shareholder.

He emphasized the role of coordinated national efforts in advancing the UAE’s AI and digital economy ambitions. “AI is a central pillar in our development journey moving forward,” he said, adding that developing the country’s digital capabilities would empower every institution, public and private, to build and innovate with AI “at the scale the coming decade will demand”.

“This project reflects our conviction that the UAE should not simply adopt AI, but govern it and build with it,” said H.E Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi, Chairman of etisalat group. “That requires digital infrastructure at a scale that would prepare us for the future”. He cast greater international connectivity as a strategic answer to the challenges of processing and moving data globally.

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Beyond raw bandwidth, the expansion will introduce new connectivity routes intended to improve reliability and efficiency, and Alzaabi tied them directly to the sovereignty goal. “Delivered through diversified routes and low-latency design, the project is set to keep the country’s connection to the global digital economy fast, direct and resilient, while ensuring the UAE’s digital sovereignty,” he said.

He also linked the plan to the group’s 50-year commitment to building infrastructure for the nation. The announcement didn’t mention what the expansion will cost. Nor did it name the new routes or say who will build them, the details that would show what digital sovereignty means in practice.