Instagram's Your Algorithm Controls Are Live, And Users Are Already Confused

Instagram just gave everyone a set of dials to tune their Reels feed, but the dials do not always turn the way you expect.

The Promise of Control

In January 2026, Instagram rolled out "Your Algorithm" to all English-speaking users globally. The feature lets you tell Instagram what you want to see more and less of in your Reels feed. You select up to three interest topics, and the algorithm adjusts accordingly.

The selling point is, of course, that you are no longer at the mercy of opaque recommendation systems. You get to shape your own feed. Instagram even put the controls behind a visible icon in the upper right corner of Reels, making them hard to miss.

In practice, the experience has been messier than the marketing suggests.

What Users Are Actually Seeing

Early reports paint a familiar picture. Users who selected specific interests found that the algorithm interpreted their choices loosely. One widely noted example involved users who chose "snowboarding" and were then served skiing content that the system apparently could not distinguish from their actual preference.

This is not a minor glitch. The entire value of the feature depends on the algorithm understanding what you mean, not just what you typed. If "snowboarding" returns "skiing," the control is decorative rather than functional.

There is also confusion about timing. Some users expected immediate changes to their feed after setting preferences. Instead, the shift was gradual and inconsistent. Instagram has not published clear guidance on how quickly the algorithm adapts after preferences are set.

The Bigger Pattern

This rollout fits a broader trend across social platforms. Users have been asking for more control over their feeds for years. Platforms have responded with settings panels and preference tools. But the gap between the promise of control and the actual experience remains wide.

Instagram's "Your Algorithm" is not the first attempt at this. TikTok has offered content filtering options. YouTube lets you mark topics as "not interested." The pattern is consistent. Platforms offer preference tools, users try them, and the results feel approximate at best.

Instagram positioned this as a meaningful shift in how recommendations work. When preferences are explicit, content outside those parameters is supposed to be filtered more aggressively. But if filtering is aggressive and inaccurate, users end up with a worse feed and experience than they started with.

What Happens Next

Meta has said it plans to bring "Your Algorithm" controls to Explore and other parts of the app. That expansion will only amplify the current friction if the underlying classification issues are not resolved first.

For now, the feature is live and visible. Whether it becomes genuinely useful depends on how quickly Instagram improves the accuracy of its topic matching.

FAQ

Where do I find the "Your Algorithm" settings? Open the Reels tab and look for the icon in the upper right corner. You can also go to Settings, then Content Preferences, then Your Algorithm.

How many interests can I select? You can choose up to three topics to prioritize in your Reels feed.

Will this affect my main feed or just Reels? Currently, the controls only apply to Reels. Meta has indicated plans to expand to Explore and other surfaces.

Can I reset my preferences? Yes. You can clear your selections and start over at any time through the same settings panel.

Why am I still seeing content I said I do not want? The algorithm adjusts gradually, not instantly. Instagram has not published a specific timeline for how quickly changes take full effect.