The recommendation algorithms in social media apps can be frighteningly good at finding your interests. If your recommendations went rogue, though, you can now reset it on Instagram.
Instagram is rolling out new features to give users, especially teens, greater control over their content and recommendations. Perhaps the biggest improvement here is the ability to “reset” recommendations across Explore, Reels, and Feed. This allows users to clear their current content and start fresh, with recommendations gradually personalizing based on future interactions. Users can also review and unfollow accounts they no longer wish to engage with.
This initiative builds upon existing tools like the “Interested” and “Not Interested” options, which allow users to fine-tune their recommendations without having to fully rely on the algorithm to do that for you. Additionally, teens can opt for a chronological “Following Feed” or create “Favorites” lists to prioritize content from specific accounts.
Instagram says that it’s committed to showing age-appropriate content through stricter rules and protective measures. This is one way to get to that goal—if a teen starts getting inappropriate content, they can just reset their algorithm back to point zero. Sensitive or mature content is avoided in recommendations, hidden from teens, or removed entirely when it violates platform guidelines. To enhance transparency, Instagram has published a new page in its Transparency Center detailing its approach to content moderation. This resource provides parents and teens with a clearer understanding of the platform’s safety protocols and content filtering mechanisms.
The option to reset your algorithm has been available for a while on TikTok. That platform has a bunch of options to finetune your For You page, such as occasionally asking if you like something or not and even an option to fine-tune it using generative AI. We hope we can see more of these options on Instagram, since they are extremely useful if you happen to doomscroll the app a lot.
Source: Instagram
