Photo-sharing service Instagram has plans to introduce an algorithm-based personalized feed for users, which is similar to the algorithm already being used by its parent company, Facebook.

With the new algorithm, Instagram will put the photos and videos it thinks you will want to see from the people you follow towards the top of your feed, irrespective of the time those posts were originally posted.

The change is partly a function of Instagram's popularity. The service hosts more than 400 million regular visitors, and Facebook has 1.59 billion monthly users. To deal better with the sheer size of content, companies had to find better ways.

While feed-based networks have become dominant over the last decade, they must be overhauled to keep audiences coming back and staying longer.

Changing Instagram's feed is going to be tricky and may trigger the ire of fans, who are used to the way their photos and messages are ordered. Many web companies have received complaints when they changed the way their feeds were arranged.

But, Instagram said that the change would not be hasty or jarring, and that it would begin with the single-digit percentage of user groups shifting with a series of small tests.

The shift will not impact Instagram's advertising products, which already employ targeting principles to serve ads to users. If the changes are accepted well, they could serve to reinforce Instagram's business.