Topics · Signal
Content source
Contents
Here, “content source” means the account or origin supplying a piece of content, including whether the viewer follows that account and whether it created the work or re-uploaded someone else’s work.12 These distinctions matter for discovery: recommendations create opportunities to find accounts, while Instagram’s decisions about originality can limit an account’s reach.12 For creators seeking recommendation opportunities, Mosseri said in August 2022 that accounts need to meet Instagram’s Recommendation Guidelines and Community Guidelines.2
Followed accounts and recommendation sources
Instagram recommendations come from accounts the viewer does not follow, according to Mosseri’s August 2022 explanation.2 He said Instagram had been adding content from these accounts to more places in the app.2 His explanation specified that only public accounts could qualify to have their content recommended.2
Original creators and re-uploading accounts
Instagram for Creators distinguishes source accounts that meaningfully enhance other people’s content from accounts that re-upload it without substantial edits.1 Its example is a screenshot of someone else’s work: adding credit without adding much else does not make the post original.1 Instagram acknowledges that it may make mistakes when distinguishing between these types of accounts.1
Creator identity in Meta’s selection research
Meta research and patents. These may not describe how Instagram works today.
Meta’s patent research describes ways that a content item’s creator can affect which posts a system selects, rather than establishing how Instagram currently operates.345 A June 2023 Meta patent describes selecting user-created content for personalized video reels using qualities of the content itself, without relying on the creator’s popularity or following.3 An October 2020 Meta patent describes assembling a creator’s feed from other creators’ posts that were viewed by people who also viewed that creator’s own content.4 A May 2019 Meta patent describes identifying an original post by a verified public figure, selecting later posts sufficiently related to that original, and giving the figure access to those selected posts.5
What you can do
- When checking how Instagram has assessed your account’s originality, regularly review Account Status for limits on your reach.1
- If an originality decision has made your account unable to receive recommendations, make changes to become eligible again.1
- Appeal Instagram’s originality decision if you believe it has mistakenly treated your account as re-uploading other people’s work without meaningful changes.1