Instagram is offering deeper controls over what appears in users' feeds, while creators say those controls still don't prioritise posts from accounts people follow. The company is testing new entry points and per-Reel buttons that let some users add or remove interest topics used to surface recommendations, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a recent post. Mosseri showed examples where pulling down on the main feed, swiping up from a Reel, or tapping buttons under individual Reels brings up a Your Algorithm menu or a prompt to tailor recommendations. He called the work "the start of something bigger than a feature," but cautioned many elements are experimental and may never reach everyone.

Mosseri framed the tests as a balance between more control and an imperfect past, while creators complain the company hasn't fixed the core problem of reach.

Instagram introduced Your Algorithm last year as a way to make recommendations more visible and editable. In his post, Mosseri said the company now wants to "evolve Your Algorithm from a setting to something that feels central to your experience on Instagram." The tests shown include fresh entry points into the tool and new per-Reel controls that let a user say whether they want to see more content like a particular clip.

What the controls actually do

The changes are topic focused. Mosseri explained that Your Algorithm surfaces the topics Instagram believes a person is interested in and then lets that person change them "across all the major parts of Instagram." In practice, the interface shows a list of inferred topics, lets people add interests, and permits the removal of topics they don't want to see.

Instagram is also showing sample content for each topic so users can preview what choosing that topic would surface. Mosseri said large language models make it possible to translate clusters of content into language people understand, and that capability underpins the new interface for displaying and editing inferred interests.

Examples Mosseri posted show a small, simple flow. Pull down on the main feed and a Your Algorithm menu can appear. Swipe up on a Reel and a prompt to customise shows. Buttons beneath individual Reels can be used to signal whether a user wants more Reels like that. The feature builds on controls Instagram already rolled out for Reels and the Explore page, but it's broader in that it aims to operate across the app.

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Why creators remain dissatisfied

The company is expanding fine grain choices, while creators want a basic guarantee: that posts from accounts people follow reliably reach their followers. That expectation has been the central complaint as recommendations have moved into the main feed.

Engadget tested the new controls and reported a snag when trying to request "posts from people I follow." The test returned an error message, "no results found." Mosseri acknowledged the change in his post, writing that who you follow used to be a meaningful tool for shaping experience, and that as recommendations took over the main feed that tool "quietly stopped working." Instagram still offers a separate Following feed for content strictly from accounts a user follows, but that feed is separate from the main recommendation-driven timeline.

The rollout is experimental. Hands-on reports say the new entry points and per-item buttons appeared only for a subset of users. One write-up noted the interface was visible to a small percentage of users in the United States. Instagram hasn't published a formal changelog or a public schedule for wider release; Mosseri warned that some elements are live, some will arrive soon, and some may never progress beyond testing.

That uncertainty extends to basic logistics. Instagram hasn't announced pricing, a global rollout timetable, or concrete eligibility thresholds for the tests. The company said some tests are live now, some will arrive soon, and some may not progress beyond experimentation.

The result is a partial fix. Users gaining the new controls will be able to see and edit interest topics, and to preview sample posts tied to those topics.

But creators who want an option to prioritise followed accounts in the main feed won't find that remedy in this test. Mosseri acknowledged the tension: recommendations now shape the main feed in ways that have reduced the influence of the follow relationship.

For Instagram the move is also a statement about the future of recommendation systems. Mosseri wrote that the company intends to expand beyond topics to support requests for people, moods, vibes, content types, and more. That suggests a broader roadmap to let people request particular kinds of content rather than simply react to what the algorithm shows them.

Still, for the moment the visible changes are limited. Topic controls are the first extension, live in tests for some users, and not a universal fix for the reach complaints that drove much of the pushback from creators. The company is experimenting, and its public signals so far emphasise choice in the recommendation engine rather than a restoration of the old follow-driven timeline.

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Mosseri framed topics as a first step, but Instagram has announced no rollout timetable, pricing, or eligibility thresholds.

This article was created with AI assistance.