Instagram Head Announces a Strict New RTO Policy

Instagram is requiring its U.S.-based employees to return to the office five days a week starting February 2, in one of the strictest return-to-office policies at big tech companies. Meanwhile, its parent company, Meta, is maintaining a hybrid work schedule for other divisions.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told staff in an internal memo leaked on Monday that Instagram will expect U.S. employees with assigned desks to be in the office full-time starting February 2. Mosseri wrote that there are exceptions. For example, Instagram does not expect New York employees to come back full-time until the company has alleviated space limitations.

“2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year,” Mosseri wrote in the memo.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that this five-day requirement applies only to Instagram and not to other Meta divisions like Facebook and WhatsApp, which remain on a three-day-in-office hybrid policy introduced in September 2023. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Meta’s hybrid schedule in January at a company-wide all-hands meeting.

Instagram is now one of the most prominent tech companies to mandate a fully in-person office schedule while its parent company, Meta, maintains a more flexible standard.

Mosseri wrote in the memo that Instagram’s shift to fully in-person work will boost creativity, collaboration and competitiveness as the platform faces pressure from rivals like YouTube. As of November, Instagram held 7.11% of the social media market, while YouTube followed close behind at 6.98%, per StatCounter.

“I believe that we are more creative and collaborative when we are together in-person,” Mosseri said in the memo, adding, “I felt this pre-Covid.”

Instagram’s move towards fully in-person work goes further than most large tech companies, which have typically chosen hybrid work models. Google, for instance, shifted to a hybrid work week, with three days in the office and two days remote, in May 2021. Microsoft mandated earlier this year that employees come into the office three days a week starting in February 2026.

A handful of big companies, including Amazon, AT&T and Dell, have implemented five-day in-office requirements this year, arguing that a full-time physical presence streamlines operations and improves collaboration.

Alongside the return-to-office mandate, Mosseri is searching for ways to improve operations at Instagram. For example, he wrote in the memo that recurring meetings will be canceled every six months and only reinstated if deemed necessary. He also asked teams to present working prototypes of products at meetings instead of slide decks or lengthy documents, and to focus on execution.

“I want most of your time focused on building great products, not preparing for meetings,” Mosseri wrote.

Instagram had over 181 million U.S. users as of October, per Statista.

Instagram is requiring its U.S.-based employees to return to the office five days a week starting February 2, in one of the strictest return-to-office policies at big tech companies. Meanwhile, its parent company, Meta, is maintaining a hybrid work schedule for other divisions.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told staff in an internal memo leaked on Monday that Instagram will expect U.S. employees with assigned desks to be in the office full-time starting February 2. Mosseri wrote that there are exceptions. For example, Instagram does not expect New York employees to come back full-time until the company has alleviated space limitations.