If your Instagram recommendations seem a little outdated, you’ll soon have a way to make the app’s algorithm forget everything it thinks it knows about you. Meta is testing a new feature that will allow users to reset the algorithmic suggestions that drive the app’s feed, Reels, and Explore sections.
The company described the feature as “test” but stated that the update “will be rolled out globally soon.” With the changes, users will be able to “reset suggested content” from the content settings section of Instagram’s settings. This, according to Meta, will allow you to “start from scratch” and provide an opportunity to reconfigure the app’s suggestions.
But while this may help you get an Instagram feed that better reflects your current interests, Meta notes that this “reset” does not remove any of your data from the app or change the way the company shows you ads. (Instagram has a separate setting for personalizing your ad preferences.)
Meta is positioning this change as part of its commitment to providing teens with new safety features, although the feature will be available to all users. “We want to give teens new ways to shape their Instagram experience so that it continues to reflect their passions and interests as they develop,” the company wrote in a blog post. The service has previously faced criticism for its recommendations, which, according to EU regulators, may encourage “addictive behavior.”
The company notes that it has other teen-specific features designed to prevent young users from viewing inappropriate content. It has recently introduced “teen accounts” that have stricter privacy settings and attempt to block certain types of harmful content that appear in their feeds.
