Instagram used to be the biggest player in text-free social media, but there's a new threat: Meta has its copy machine ready.

TikTok has become the third-largest social network in the world, after Facebook’s Instagrad. It makes sense that Instagram would look to TikTok to see what works as it considers its own plans for the future. But by trying to borrow features from TikTok, Instagram risks losing its soul. Its existing user base isn’t happy, and Instagram knows it.

Instagram’s attempt to emulate the video-first social network makes sense, says Christina Warren, a podcaster, writer, and speaker specializing in technology. “I think on its face it makes sense that Instagram would want to compete with TikTok. TikTok is the most popular app, the most popular website, and where Meta’s most sought-after user base spends the most time,” Warren told Lifewire over email. But what Instagram forgets is that it’s not that simple.

As Warren is quick to point out, Instagram and TikTok's approaches are vastly different — or used to be.