Instagram tests more algorithm control entries to strengthen users' ability to intervene in recommended content

Instagram expands algorithm control experiments: from pull-down gestures to conversational prompts

Instagram is testing more ways to give users control over recommended content in the appat a higher level. The update aims to make it easier for people to give feedback to the IG system about what they like or dislike in their feed.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said Instagram is exploring more ways to make users aware of this option while providing more access points to algorithm controls. The new features build on the app's existing Your Algorithm control options, which are currently rolling out to all users.

Mosseri said: "We're working to make Your Algorithm more present and more useful on Instagram... Some of this is being tested, some is coming soon, and some may not work out."

Mosseri shared four examples Instagram is considering, the first beingsimplifying access to the Your Algorithm panel from the home screen。

With this feature, users will be able to pull down the screen to access the Your Algorithm panel and add or remove topics that the system has flagged based on their interactions.

Instagram is also considering insertingdirect access points to topic controls。

in the Reels feed. Additionally, for recommended Reels videos, there may bebottom action bar controls, allowing users to quickly enter the Your Algorithm interface and easily express whether they are interested.

Finally, Instagram is also testingconversational promptsto optimize recommendations, which will make it easier for users to improve their feed content without specifying specific topics.

Mosseri said that ideally, this would make the algorithm "feel like something you can talk to, rather than something that happens to you." This aligns with his visionof making the Instagram experience more personalized, as AI systems can now receive a wider range of signals.

The Illusion of Control: The Nature of Experience Under Algorithm Dominance

This is helpful, or at least interesting. But it doesn't solve all problems, and given that most people won't bother to adjust recommendation settings, it feels more like a concept than a practical tool.

On the first point, many Instagram users have repeatedly called for a pure feed that only shows content from accounts they manually chose to follow. Meta hasn't provided this because algorithm-defined experiences drive far higher engagement than user-selected content。

In this sense, Meta's algorithm control options seem more about providing anillusion of controlrather than true dominance over the experience.

On the second point, the fact remains that despite Meta offering this option, most people won't use it.

This has been repeatedly demonstratedin areas like safety changes, data protection, algorithm controls, and feed preferences. People ask for these options to feel more in control of their experience. But in most cases, these tools ultimately provide more psychological comfort than real control and manual input options.

Most people, especially in the algorithm-defined era, just want to log in, start scrolling, and let the system learn their preferences along the way. TikTok's increasingly precise feed algorithm has solidified this process into the UI flow, and people may now be less willing to dig into settings because they've become accustomed to passively receiving system-recommended content.

Instagram knows this well, and it would be interesting to see actual usage data for its Your Algorithm tools. Making the option more visible should increase usage, but this feels more like a PR campaign by Meta to alleviate the pressure its influence places on users.

But it is indeed another move worth considering, and at least in theory, it could have a significant impact.

Meta is unlikely to risk causing a massive user exodus, so the company probably won't give users too much control or make this feature too prominent, especially if manually editing interests reduces time spent in the app.

But users may soon have another way to tell Instagram's algorithm what they like.