David Bridges
Instagram is testing new settings for users to control what kind of content they see on the platform.
In a blog post, Meta says its tests include the ability to select multiple posts and mark them using the “not interested” button, which is supposed to flag to the app that a user doesn’t want to see similar content. Currently, users can click into an individual post to flag it, but there’s no way to do that at scale.
Instagram will also soon start testing a way for users to make a list of keywords, phrases, emojis, and hashtags in recommended posts that they’re not interested in and that they don’t want to see. TikTok rolled out a similar keyword-based feature in June — it already gave users the ability to “dislike” videos to steer their algorithm towards more of what they want to see.
The new controls on Instagram come shortly after users revolted over changes piling up on the platform. Apart from a flood of Reels, many Instagram users were upset by the amount of recommended content appearing on their feeds from accounts they don’t follow — something Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said will only increase going forward.
Instagram already offers a few ways to tailor your feed, like snoozing suggested posts for 30 days and adding people to a “Favorites” list so posts from those accounts don’t get buried. More settings on the Explore page to fine-tune your algorithm make sense — Meta is shifting to focus more on discovery as it works to compete with TikTok.
Maya Kensington
