Instagram Feed: Take Control Fast
How Instagram’s new Your Algorithm controls let you shape Feed, Reels, and Explore in seconds
Jun 11, 2026 (Updated Jun 11, 2026) - Written by Christian Tico
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Christian Tico
Jun 11, 2026 (Updated Jun 11, 2026)
Instagram Expands “Your Algorithm” Controls to the Main Feed
Instagram is broadening its Your Algorithm controls beyond Reels, giving users a way to view and edit the topics shaping recommendations across the main Feed as well as Reels and Explore. The change is designed to make Instagram’s personalization more transparent and give people more direct control over what they see.
What “Your Algorithm” Does
Your Algorithm shows users the topics Instagram believes are shaping their recommendations, then lets them adjust those interests by adding what they want to see more of or reducing what they want to see less of.
Instagram initially introduced the feature for Reels, where users could review the platform’s interest assumptions and refine them in a more hands-on way.
How the Main Feed Expansion Works
With the latest expansion, Instagram is bringing the same control model to the main Feed, so users can influence not only short-form video recommendations but also the broader content mix they see when opening the app.
This matters because the Feed is one of Instagram’s most-used surfaces, and adding topic controls there gives people a more visible way to shape the posts that appear in their daily scroll.
How Users Access the Controls
According to coverage of the rollout, the controls can be opened from within Instagram’s recommendation areas, where users can tap the relevant menu or slider-style icon to review the topics influencing their experience.
- Open the relevant Instagram surface, such as Reels or Feed.
- Tap the menu or control icon associated with recommendations.
- Review the topics Instagram believes match your interests.
- Add topics you want to see more of.
- Remove or reduce topics you want to see less of.
Why Instagram Is Making This Change
The expansion fits a wider push toward recommendation transparency, allowing users to see more clearly how Instagram’s systems interpret their activity.
Instagram’s recommendation systems rely on signals such as interaction patterns, viewing behavior, and topic relevance, so giving users a manual control layer helps them correct or redirect those signals.
What This Means for Users
For everyday users, the biggest benefit is simpler personalization. Instead of waiting for the algorithm to change on its own, people can actively steer the content mix toward their current interests.
For creators and brands, the update reinforces the importance of topic relevance. Content that matches a user’s stated interests is more likely to remain aligned with their recommendations, while off-topic content may be deprioritized.
Rollout and Availability
Instagram first launched Your Algorithm in limited testing, then expanded access more broadly, with rollout details varying by region and language support.
Coverage of the feature indicates that Instagram intends to keep extending these controls across more parts of the app, building a more unified recommendation experience over time.
What to Watch Next
The main question now is how deeply Instagram will extend manual topic control beyond Feed, Reels, and Explore, and whether users will adopt it as a regular part of managing their experience.
If the rollout succeeds, Instagram may move closer to a model where recommendation tuning becomes a normal part of everyday use, rather than something users only notice when their feed feels off.
Conclusion
Instagram’s expansion of Your Algorithm to the main Feed gives users more direct influence over personalization and makes the platform’s recommendation system easier to understand. For users who want a cleaner, more relevant experience, it is one of Instagram’s most practical control updates yet.
This isn’t really about user control; it’s about giving Instagram a UX layer that makes algorithmic steering feel personal while keeping the underlying recommendation machine intact. The real shift is that taste is being turned into a managed profile object users can edit, which makes content distribution more transparent without making it any less centralized.
What are the main signals that Instagram's recommendation systems rely on?
