Feed

Instagram Feed selects followed-account posts using information such as who created each post and its content format4. Meta's Transparency Center describes an initial selection of approximately 700 posts, followed by the calculation of relevance scores for about 500 posts to put them in order4. Instagram's Help Center explains that posts from a few days ago can appear to prevent viewers from missing a followed account's post or a suggestion9. A Meta patent illustrates how a social-network feed could learn from previous viewing time, clicks, likes, comments and shares, but it does not establish Instagram Feed's implementation10. In that Meta patent, posts from connections someone frequently interacts with can rank above posts from connections they rarely interact with10.

Instagram Feed's recommendation system selects from public photos and videos, considering information such as a viewer's interests and posts they have previously reshared3. Meta's Transparency Center also describes an automated assessment of a post's content quality as one input to the process3. Recommendations can continue after regular Feed posts, and the system considers how often a viewer has seen suggested content3. Meta's AI blog describes recommendations on Facebook and Instagram as selecting relevant content from tens of billions of items outside a person's network of connections5. Mosseri compared recommendations to an audition in November 2025: Instagram tries to give public content seeking a wide audience a minimum number of views, then expands exposure when it performs well11.

Instagram says that interacting with profiles and content you enjoy helps shape Feed, alongside its explicit controls7.

Feed reach can change because people's interests change, Mosseri explained in May 202417. Followers may also miss posts because they do not open Instagram on a given day or because many other posts compete for their attention17. In June 2025, Mosseri said testing showed that making newest-first ordering the default led people to use Instagram less and say they liked it less, leaving less average reach available for creators18. He gave this as the reason for retaining a personalized default rather than making chronological ordering the standard experience18.

Instagram Feed removes posts that violate Community Guidelines from the set of potential followed-account posts4. Meta's Transparency Center also says the system reduces how widely problematic content is shown, which is different from removing it4. Public photos and videos considered for Feed recommendations must follow quality and content rules, and Instagram for Creators directs creators to its Recommendation Guidelines when explaining what may affect their ability to reach new audiences13. Meta says it uses direct and indirect signals to rank content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, including political posts, and may recommend political content19.