The Instagram algorithm now allows users to customize their main feed recommendations directly, giving them more control over suggested posts. Meta announced this update through a post by Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Specifically, these new personalization features will function across all major parts of the social media application. Users can now view the topics that the system targets based on their activity. From there, they can directly alter them to shape their content recommendations.
Previously, the platform only allowed users to customize recommendations within the Reels tab. However, the update now extends these controls to the primary feed, Explore page, and Reels. Users can select specific topics they want to see more or less of in their daily feed. Behind the scenes, Instagram uses large language models (LLMs) to summarize and manage these topics based on user activity. This AI-driven clustering represents a significant shift in how the social network structures its recommendation engine.
Limitations of the Algorithmic Control
Although the feature gives users more agency, it still has notable limitations. For example, users cannot choose to see more posts from accounts they actually follow. Searching for ‘people I follow’ in the topics settings returns a ‘no results found’ error. Consequently, the feature only adjusts recommended content rather than restoring a traditional chronological feed. Many creators argue that the platform should prioritize content from followed accounts over algorithmic recommendations.
Interestingly, this update aligns with broader efforts to make social media algorithms more transparent and customizable. Tech My Money recently reported on Meta removing facial recognition code from its smart glasses app. That change shows the tech giant is modifying user settings across its ecosystem to address user concerns. In both cases, the company is attempting to balance advanced features with user privacy and personalization preferences.
To personalize recommendations, users can open the app settings and select the algorithm preferences section. From there, they can toggle specific interests and tell the algorithm what content to prioritize. Still, it remains to be seen if these adjustments will truly satisfy users who want a simple chronological feed. For now, the new dashboard offers a helpful look at how the app categorizes your online interests.
