Meta Might Be Considering Algorithm-Free Timelines for Facebook and Instagram

Meta could soon face a landmark shift in how users experience its social platforms. According to a recent Dutch court ruling and legal experts, regulatory developments in Europe may compel Meta to provide algorithm-free or user-controlled content feeds on Facebook and Instagram.

Draft proposals under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and ongoing scrutiny from the European Commission are pushing Meta to rethink its opaque recommendation systems. The proposals would require platforms to offer users the choice of viewing content in reverse chronological order or with minimal algorithmic interference. Meta insiders suggest the company is evaluating how to comply without sacrificing engagement.

Here’s an excerpt from the legal court ruling:

“Providers of online platforms that use recommender systems shall set out in their terms and conditions, in plain and intelligible language, the main parameters used in their recommender systems, as well as any options for the recipients of the service to modify or influence those main parameters […] Where several options are available for recommender systems that determine the relative order of information presented to recipients of the service, providers of online platforms shall also make available a functionality that allows the recipient of the service to select and to modify at any time their preferred option.”

Inside sources also claim that Meta is exploring “algorithm-off modes” in which users can toggle between the default “For You” feed and a purely chronological feed. Another possibility: lightweight ranking systems that only reorder posts from the user’s existing network, excluding externally recommended content or ads.

Here’s how users can experience a change:

• User choice in feed experience: Users might be able to switch between algorithmic feeds and a “classic” chronological view.
• Transparency controls: Meta may expose more controls over why certain posts are shown, which signals are used, and how ranking is determined.
• Reduced amplification of external content: Some proposals would limit content recommendation from unfamiliar accounts or third parties unless explicitly permitted by users.
• Advertising impact: While ad placement would still occur, the way ads appear and how many are pushed via algorithm could shift to meet regulatory standards.

Algorithmic curation is central to how Facebook and Instagram deliver engagement and ad performance. Moving to more neutral or user-controlled models could reduce reach for less active or emerging creators and strain ad targeting effectiveness.

“We’ve tested [non-algorithm feeds] and tried it a number of times. Every time we have, there’s a sub-group of people who are happy, there’s a bunch of people who forget that they’re in it, and then overall, everybody who’s in it uses Instagram less and less over time. And when we ask them questions like “how satisfied are you with Instagram?”, they actually report being less happy with Instagram more and more over time, on average. And then there’s these second-order effects where their friends start using Instagram less [and] because they use it less, they send less likes and comments, messages, and then there’s all of this other stuff, and it just gets worse and worse, and quickly,” said Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram.

Engineers would also need to refactor core feed infrastructure, ensuring features like Reels, Stories, and Explore integrate smoothly into new feed modes. A backward-compatible, bug-free toggle between feed modes is nontrivial at Meta’s scale.

Meta reportedly is prototyping small test versions with limited user cohorts in select regions. Some experiments may hide external recommendation content by default while giving users an opt-in.

The company is reportedly negotiating with European regulators to define what “minimal algorithm” could legally mean. A spokesperson for Meta said the company will appeal the ruling.

“We introduced substantial changes to our systems to meet our regulatory obligations under the DSA (EU’s Digital Services Act), and notified users in the Netherlands about how they can use our tools to experience our platforms without personalisation,” they elaborated to the media sources.