Instagram is testing more ways to give users control over recommendations. The update aims to make it easier to tell the system what content you like. It builds on the app’s existing Your Algorithm control option.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri shared the plans this week:
“We’re working on making Your Algorithm feel more present and useful across Instagram […] some of this is testing now, some is coming soon, some might not work.”
He said the company is exploring more access points to its algorithm controls. It also wants to make users more aware the option exists. Your Algorithm is gradually rolling out to all users.
Mosseri laid out four ideas Instagram is considering. The first simplifies access to the Your Algorithm panel from the home screen. Users could drag the screen down to open it. There they can add or remove topics the system has tagged to them.
Instagram is also testing controls placed directly between Reels in-stream. A lower function bar could let users signal interest in recommended Reels. That would make it easier to shape the feed while scrolling.
The most notable idea uses conversational prompts to refine recommendations. This would let users improve their feed without naming specific topics. Mosseri said it should make the algorithm feel like something you talk to. He wants it to feel less like something that happens to you.
The features face real limits, though. Many users have long asked for a simple chronological feed of accounts they follow. Meta has not delivered that, since algorithmic feeds drive far more engagement. Critics argue the controls offer the illusion of choice over real agency.
Most people also will not bother adjusting these settings. TikTok trained users to expect a feed that simply learns as they scroll. So the tools may serve more as reassurance than practical control. Still, the experiments could give users another way to guide Instagram’s algorithm if they choose.
