With finals over and done with, I’ve been spending my extra free time doom-scrolling on Instagram Reels. Now that I have more time on my hands, I’ve noticed just how many additions Reels has had in the past year. Reels has seen a few updates and revamps over the past year, like the Blend feature, which curates a feed of Reels based on the activity of everyone in a particular group chat. Now, right under the wire before the new year, Instagram has launched one more new feature — with the help of AI.
The feature, called “Your Algorithm,” allows users to view the different topics that inform their Reels recommendations and customize them to their liking. The tool works to determine users’ interests through what Reels they view, like, and comment on, and then creates an AI summary of these interests.Â
According to Instagram’s announcement about the new feature on Dec. 10, “Using AI, you can now more easily view and personalize the topics that shape your Reels, making recommendations feel even more tailored to you.” While the update was first introduced in the U.S., it is soon to debut globally, according to Tech Crunch.
Here’s what to know about the new feature.
How to Find and Use “Your Algorithm”
While scrolling on Reels, look at the upper right corner of your screen for an icon showing two horizontal lines with hearts — tap that icon. This will take you to a page showing a set of AI-generated topics you’ve shown interest in, based on your activity on Reels, accompanied by a description that explains a few of your top interests. (You can share this description on your IG Story, if you’re proud of it.) Next, you can select even more topics that you want to see more of. If a topic you’re looking for isn’t included as an option, you can type it in yourself. You can also denote topics that you’d like to see less of on your Reels page. Then, you can scroll your Reels tab — there should be more videos that have to do with the new topics and interests that you chose!
Why don’t I have Instagram’s “Your Algorithm” Feature?
If you can’t find the heart-line icon in the upper right corner of your Reels tab, try updating the app in the Apple App Store. Though the update has automatically shown up on many users’ accounts, it can’t hurt to manually update the app to see if that makes the feature show up.
But if the feature still isn’t present, don’t fret — Instagram Help Center’s “Tune your algorithm on Instagram” page states the tool is still in a testing phase and may not be available to everyone yet. It appears that the U.S. rollout is gradual, so you may just have to patiently await having access to “Your Algorithm.”Â
Another thing to stay tuned for: While “Your Algorithm” is being introduced with Reels, Instagram’s announcement of the feature also stated that the company plans to implement the update in the Explore tab and in other parts of the social media app as well.