Content recommendations

Instagram's recommendations combine predictions about a viewer's behavior rather than treating one action as a complete measure of interest.3 Meta's Newsroom explains that predicting whether someone will share a post is one factor, because sharing can indicate that they found it interesting.3 The systems also use feedback collected through surveys to help assess whether a post would be valuable to someone.3

Meta's research activity includes a 2021 workshop intended to bring researchers and industry practitioners together to explore improvements to Instagram's recommendation technology.13 A Meta patent describes a proposed method—not documentation of Instagram's current operation—for selecting additional content and suggesting users by comparing content characteristics or user attributes with a person's interests.14 The Meta patent describes characteristics including caption language and information obtained by processing images or video, such as recognizing text or detecting objects.14 The Meta patent also describes giving higher-scoring content more prominent placement in an additional feed.14

Instagram's Help Center says Not interested lets viewers request fewer similar posts in Feed, Reels, Explore and Search, and Instagram also supports hiding several Explore suggestions at once.415 Instagram explains that feedback given in Explore can influence recommendations elsewhere, including Reels and Search.4 Feed suggestions offer an account-specific exclusion through Don't suggest posts from [name].16 Instagram and Mosseri also describe a caption filter that lets viewers specify words, emojis or hashtags they do not want in recommended photos and videos.417

Instagram's Help Center says Snooze pauses all suggested Feed posts for 30 days.16 Your Algorithm lets viewers inspect the topics Instagram thinks interest them, add missing interests and ask not to see particular topics.5 Reset suggested content instead provides a fresh start in Explore, Reels and Feed, after which recommendations gradually personalize again from subsequent interactions with content and accounts.618 Meta's Newsroom says the reset process also offers an opportunity to review followed accounts and unfollow those whose content is no longer wanted.18

Instagram applies stricter standards to recommendations because viewers did not deliberately choose to follow the accounts behind them.719 Meta's Transparency Center says these standards help avoid recommending low-quality, objectionable or sensitive material, including content inappropriate for younger viewers.19 Content that does not meet the recommendation standards can remain on Instagram while being excluded from suggestions or made harder to find; that is different from removing it.720

Instagram's Help Center says Sensitive Content Control covers potentially upsetting or offensive material in Explore, Search, Reels, Comments, Accounts You Might Follow and Feed recommendations.20 This setting adjusts how much of that material a viewer sees, while Recommendation Guidelines set baseline standards for recommended content.1920 Teens under 18 automatically receive the Ages 13+ content setting, which covers content, profiles and comments similar to content ratings for ages 13+.20 They need a parent or guardian's permission to switch to More content.20

Instagram for Creators advises publishing original work, such as content filmed yourself, and avoiding reuploads or aggregated material taken from others.10 In January 2025, Mosseri also advised avoiding watermarks, adding audio especially to photos and carousels, and keeping videos to three minutes or less as things to keep in mind when seeking access to recommendations.21 In August 2025, he rejected the claim that interacting with content similar to your own is necessary to maximize your posts' reach.22 His advice was to interact with content you enjoy while making content your audience would find compelling.22

To investigate recommendation restrictions, Mosseri says creators can open their profile settings and go to Account Status to see whether their account can be recommended to people who do not follow them.9 When a problem appears, creators can address it within that tool.9 Mosseri also explains that recommendations can keep bringing a post to new people for a few weeks, so creators should watch their performance information for several days rather than judging only the first few hours.8