Upcoming Instagram Metric Deprecation in January - Nov 2024
Meta has announced several Instagram metrics will be deprecated as of January 8th, 2025 in order to improve metric quality as well as to continue aligning the functionality of Instagram API with that of the Instagram app. Sprout will stop collecting data for these metrics on January 1, 2025. Affected metrics will be available in app temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025.
We understand these recent metric deprecations can be challenging, and we’ve been working closely with Meta to fully understand the impact on Sprout reporting. They are implementing these changes to simplify available metrics, ensuring that creators have consistent insights across Instagram. This consistency helps creators better understand their content’s performance, regardless of format, and supports the development of more effective strategies. We’ll continue to partner with Meta to provide additional updates as they become available.
Do these changes only impact Sprout Social?
These metric changes impact all third-party Meta Partners that use Meta’s APIs, including Sprout Social.
Metrics to be deprecated
- video_views
- email_contacts (PA)
- get_direction_clicks (PA)
- profile_views (PA)
- text_message_clicks (PA)
- website_clicks (PA)
- phone_call_clicks (PA)
(PA = Premium Analytics)
Please note, the Sprout metric, Profile Actions (PA), will effectively be deprecated due to the deprecation of all its sub-metrics. See Other Metrics Impacted chart.
Impacts of Video Views deprecation
For Reels, Video Views will be replaced by Views natively (formerly Plays) but will still be called Video Views in Sprout. This move aligns with Meta’s focus on Views in their native Instagram reports. Views will not be available on other content types at launch, including:
- Carousels
- Photos
- Video posts that are not published as Reels
This will also impact Average Daily Video Views per Profile (PA) as the average is calculated using the Video Views metric. We expect this value to be lower moving forward as we can only include Views from Reels.
We are working with Meta to get an understanding on when Views will be available for these additional content types. We will make them available in Reporting as soon as they are available to us.
Metric Deprecation Impacts
| Instagram Metric Being Deprecated | Definition | Sprout Metrics Impacted | Where it’s used | Notes |
| video_views | Total number of views by video | Video Views |
|
Video views will be lower than in previous periods. Views will be replacing Video Views natively as the new KPI to measure video performance. Views is only available for Reels at this time. Non-Reel video posts (post and carousel post types) will not have Video Views moving forward.
|
| email_contacts | Number of email contacts over a specified period of time | Email Clicks |
|
Email Contacts will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
| get_directions_clicks | Number of taps on the directions link in the IG user profile | Get Directions Clicks |
|
Get Directions Clicks will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
| profile_views | Number of users who have viewed the IG user's profile over a specified period of time | Profile Visitors |
|
Profile Visitors will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
| text_message_clicks | Number of taps on the text message link in the IG user's profile over a specified period of time | Text Message Clicks |
|
Text Message Clicks will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
| website_clicks | Number of website visits over a specified period of time | Website Clicks |
|
Website Clicks will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
| phone_call_clicks | Number of phone call clicks over a specified period of time | Phone Call Clicks |
|
Phone Call Clicks will no longer be recorded after Jan 1, 2025. This metric will be available in Sprout temporarily for historical reporting purposes and will be removed from reports in Q2 2025. |
Other Metrics Impacted
| Sprout Metric | Definition | Impact | Notes |
| Profile Actions | The sum of Email Clicks, Get Directions Clicks, Phone Call Clicks, Text Message Clicks and Website Clicks |
|
This metric is effectively deprecated due to the deprecation of all its submetrics. For cross network reports and widgets, Profile Actions will remain and be a Facebook-only metric. |
Impacts by Report/Widget
| Report/Widget |
Plan Level |
What’s changing |
| Profile Performance Report | In Plan & Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Instagram Business Profiles Report | In Plan & Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
Other Notes: The option for PA users to break down the Engagements widget by “Engagement and Profile Action” will be removed. |
| Post Performance Report | In Plan & Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
Other Notes: Non-Reels Video Content will display “N/A” for Video Views |
| Post Performance Widgets | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
Other Notes: Non-Reels Video Content will no longer appear in widgets |
| Post Analysis Widget | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Post Summary Widget | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Video Views Widget | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Performance Summary Widget | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Engagements Widgets | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
Other Notes: The option to break down by “Engagement and Profile Action” in the Instagram widget will be removed. |
| Impressions Widgets | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
| Profile Widgets | Premium Analytics |
Deprecating:
Metrics that will decrease post-deprecation:
|
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