Instagram has rolled out retention charts for Reels, and let’s be honest, the results are going to hurt some feelings.

The new retention metrics show you the precise moment your audience decided your content wasn’t worth their time. The goal, however, isn’t to eliminate the decline, but to make that slope as gradual as possible. A flat line means you’re winning the attention lottery. A steep drop means you’ve just discovered the exact moment your joke fell flat or your transition got awkward.

Instagram is also replacing “View Rate” with “Skip Rate,” which sounds less harsh until you realize what it actually measures: the percentage of people who took one look at your content and immediately said “nope.” 

Three seconds. That’s your window to prove your content is worth a human’s precious time. Not four seconds, not five, three. A high skip rate is Instagram’s polite way of telling you that your hook needs work. Maybe it’s your thumbnail, your opening line, or just the general vibe. Either way, the data doesn’t lie, even when it stings.

The shift to Skip Rate metrics reflects a fundamental truth about content consumption: people decide whether to engage with your content before they’ve actually consumed any of it. Your first three seconds aren’t part of your story. They’re your audition for the right to tell your story.

You can read more here.