Instagram is introducing a new tool that lets you see and control your algorithm, starting with Reels. The company announced the feature on Wednesday.
This new tool, called “Your Algorithm,” allows you to view the topics that shape your Reels recommendations and customize them to better fit your interests. When you are watching Reels, you will see an icon in the upper right corner that looks like two lines with hearts. Tapping on that opens “Your Algorithm.”
You will then see what topics Instagram thinks you care about the most. Instagram says your list of interests is determined by your activity and summarized by AI. For example, you might see a description that reads: “Lately you’ve been into creativity, sports hype, fitness motivation, and skateboarding.” You can choose to share this description to your Story so your followers can see what you are into.
Underneath the summary, you will see the list of topics that Instagram believes you are interested in. You can select which topics you want to see more or less of, and your recommendations will adapt accordingly. Plus, if you are interested in a topic that is not listed, you can type it in to add it to your list of interests.
This move follows TikTok’s rollout of its “Manage Topics” feature last year, which allows users to take greater control over what they see on their For You feed. Similar to Instagram’s new feature, TikTok lets you tailor your feed to show more or less of certain topics.
However, unlike TikTok, which only displays around a dozen generic topic categories, Instagram’s list is personalized to you and lets you add additional topics.
The new Instagram tool is available starting Wednesday in the U.S. and will roll out globally in English soon.
In the future, people will be able to use the Your Algorithm tool to personalize their Explore feed. Instagram says the company plans to bring the tool to more places in the app as well.