Most people scroll through Instagram without giving a second thought to why certain posts show up and others don’t. It just happens, somewhere behind the scenes, decided by a system most of us never get to see, let alone touch. That’s starting to change in a meaningful way. Instagram plans to expand Your Algorithm, a feature that lets users actually see and adjust the topics shaping their feed, and head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has made it clear this isn’t a minor tweak. He wants it to become central to how people experience the app, not just a setting buried a few menus deep.
Let’s break down what this feature already does and where it’s heading next.
What Is Your Algorithm?
Your Algorithm first rolled out in December 2025, starting with Reels in the United States before expanding to English-speaking users globally. The feature gives users a direct look at the topics Instagram believes they’re interested in, based on viewing habits, and lets them add, remove, or adjust those topics at will.
Since launch, the tool has already expanded beyond Reels into Explore, and more recently into the main Feed as well, giving users a more unified way to shape what they see across the entire app rather than one surface at a time.
Why Instagram Plans to Expand Your Algorithm
According to Mosseri, the goal is to evolve Your Algorithm from something tucked away as a setting into a feature that feels woven into the everyday experience of using the app. He’s described plans to make it accessible directly from the home screen, with the ability to adjust preferences in real time rather than digging through menus to find it.
A few reasons this expansion makes sense for Instagram right now:
– Audiences have grown increasingly vocal about wanting more transparency into how recommendation systems work
– Competing platforms have leaned heavily into interest-based content sorting, and Instagram wants to keep pace
– Giving users explicit control can reduce frustration with a feed that feels unpredictable or out of step with their actual interests
– It gives Instagram a way to gather clearer signals about what people want, rather than relying solely on passive behavior tracking
How to Find and Use It Right Now
While the feature is still being tested and refined, it’s already accessible for plenty of users today. Here’s where to look:
– While watching Reels, look for the icon in the upper right corner showing two lines with hearts
– Tap it to open a personal dashboard showing the topics currently shaping your recommendations
– Add new topics you want to see more of, or remove ones that no longer feel relevant
– Check Settings, then Content Preferences, where the feature is also being surfaced in the main Feed
Some of the newer access points Mosseri has demonstrated, like pulling down on the top of your feed or finding a button beneath a Reel, are still being tested and may not work consistently for everyone just yet.
