Instagram update removes option to share likes and activity to Facebook

Instagram 5.0.6 for iOS (Lux filter slider)

Instagram updated its iOS client last night, bringing the app to version 5.0.11. The update is small—the change log only mentions one alteration—but significant, as it takes away the auto-sharing of activity to Facebook.

More specifically, users will now only be able to share images deliberately to Facebook using the in-app share button. So the change should go a long way in decluttering News Feeds, a common complaint amongst users…

Here are your brief release notes:

What’s New in Version 5.0.11

Updated Facebook share settings: Continue sharing your Instagram photos and videos on Facebook. But Instagram likes and activity will no longer be shared on Facebook.

It’s not clear exactly why Facebook made the change. It’s possible that with over 200 million users, the auto-posts from Instagram were really becoming an issue—either as a user annoyance or waste of server resources.

It’s also possible this is just part of Facebook’s apparent spring cleaning. Last week the company streamlined its iOS offerings by pulling Poke and Camera from the App Store, and pushed a major update to its official client.

At any rate, if you’re interested you can find the latest version of Instagram in the App Store for free.