How Instagram’s “Your Algorithm” Will Let You Control Your Feed

Your Algorithm lives in the Reels tab. When you tap the new icon at the top right, you’ll see a dashboard showing what Instagram believes your top interests are. These topics come from your recent activity and are grouped into areas like sports, thrifting, horror movies, pop music, and more. Instagram uses AI to build this list. Tessa Lyons, the company’s vice president of product, explained that the team wants the experience to feel more personal. She noted that users can remove interests if the app gets something wrong or highlight topics they want to see more often.

Once inside the dashboard, you can tap on any category and decide whether you want Reels that match that interest more often or less often. You can even add new topics if the ones you care about are missing. The controls update your feed in real time, so your Reels shift as you adjust your preferences.

Brands may feel this update too. When people signal interest in certain areas, Instagram can surface more of that content, which means creators and businesses that match those topics could reach more users. A running shoe brand might get more visibility from users who show interest in fitness. A vintage reseller might find themselves in front of more shoppers who interact with thrifting content. These are small adjustments that may have a noticeable impact on discovery.

Instagram says Your Algorithm will expand to Explore and other parts of the app. A similar feature is being tested for Threads, giving people a consistent way to guide their feeds. Meta also plans to add additional tools that help explain why certain posts appear and offer feedback options when something doesn’t feel relevant.

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