Instagram is rolling out a feature that gives users a clearer look at how their recommendations work—and more influence over them. The new tool, called Your Algorithm, lets you see the topics shaping your Reels feed and adjust them based on what you actually want to watch.
The feature, announced on Wednesday, marks one of Instagram’s biggest steps toward transparency in how its ranking system works.
A New Icon on Reels Unlocks Your Personal Interest Map
While viewing Reels, users will now notice a new icon in the top-right corner that resembles two lines with hearts. Tapping it opens the Your Algorithm dashboard.
Inside, Instagram presents an AI-generated summary of what it believes you’re into. This list is based on your recent activity, including posts you watch, like, save, or engage with.
For example, your summary might say:
“Recently you’ve been into creativity, sports hype, fitness motivation, and skateboarding.”
Instagram also allows you to share this personalized summary to your Story—similar to how people share their Spotify Wrapped highlights.
Customize the Topics That Shape Your Feed
Beneath your interest summary, you’ll see a list of topics that Instagram thinks matter to you.
From there, you can:
- Mark topics you want to see more of
- Tell Instagram to show you less of others
- Manually add new interests that aren’t on the list
Your Reels recommendations will update automatically as you make changes, giving you more direct control over what appears in your feed.
How It Compares to TikTok’s Controls
Instagram’s update follows TikTok’s launch of its Manage Topics feature last year. Both tools allow users to customize their feeds according to their preferences.
The difference lies in personalization:
- TikTok offers a limited set of broad topic categories.
- Instagram generates a custom list based on each user’s behavior and even lets users add their own interests.
This gives Instagram’s tool a more granular feel designed to adapt to the subtleties of each user’s taste.
U.S. Launch First, Global Rollout Coming
The Your Algorithm tool is now available in the United States, starting today. Instagram says an English-language global rollout will follow soon.
The company also confirmed that this tool won’t be limited to Reels for long. Instagram plans to extend it to the Explore feed and eventually more areas across the app, giving users broader control over how their content is personalized.
A Step Toward More Transparent Algorithms
For years, social platforms have relied on opaque recommendation systems. Instagram’s move signals a shift toward giving users deeper insight and more agency in how their content feeds take shape.
As algorithms become central to how people discover information, tools like this could play an increasingly important role in how platforms maintain trust and engagement.