To reset your algorithm on Instagram, open your profile, tap Menu, tap Content preferences, then tap Reset suggested content and follow the prompts. Instagram's Help Center says a reset lets you see posts and reels about topics you do not normally see. It cannot be undone, and it does not change who you follow.
Everything below about Instagram comes from its Help Center, its blog, its ranking explainer or Meta's Transparency Center, read on 23 October 2026, with the date of each source where it carries one.
Is there a reset button for the Instagram algorithm?
Yes, but Instagram calls it Reset suggested content. Meta announced it as a test on 19 November 2024, describing a way to clear recommended content across Explore, Reels and Feed and start fresh. Reset suggested content now has its own Help Center article, and it works in the Instagram app on iPhone and Android but not on a computer.
Instagram has three main tools for steering what you see, and they are easy to mix up:
| Tool | What it does | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Reset suggested content | Clears your suggestions so they rebuild from what you do next | Profile, Menu, Content preferences |
| Your Algorithm | Shows the topics Instagram ties to you and lets you add or remove interests | The icon in the corner of Reels or Explore, or Content preferences |
| Not interested | Tells Instagram you want less of what one post or reel shows | The three-dot menu on a suggested post or reel |
Instagram's Help Center calls the second tool "Tune your algorithm". Same feature, two names.
What are the steps to reset suggested content?
Open Content preferences from your profile menu and tap Reset suggested content. Instagram's Help Center gives the same steps for iPhone and Android:
- Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to open your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below What you see, tap Content preferences.
- Tap Reset suggested content.
- Tap Next and follow the instructions. Instagram offers a chance to review who you follow and your ad topics. Some people will not see the ad topics option, depending on where they live or if they have a subscription for no ads.
- Tap Reset suggested content again to confirm.
Step 5 is worth a minute. When Meta announced the reset, it said you could review the accounts you follow and unfollow any that share content you no longer want to see. Instagram lists whom you follow among the things its suggestions draw on, so the review is the other half of a fresh start.
What does a reset change, and what does it leave alone?
A reset changes your suggestions and nothing else Instagram lists. Three details from the Help Center:
- It clears suggestions, not your follows or ads. Resetting does not change who you follow or the ads you see, and Instagram lets you review both before you confirm.
- It does not delete your data. Instagram says it still uses your data to personalise your experience in other ways, to show ads where it shows ads, and for the purposes in the Meta Privacy Policy.
- It rebuilds from what you do next. Your suggestions become more personalised again as you like, share and engage with content, so what you watch after a reset shapes what returns.
What is Your Algorithm on Instagram?
Your Algorithm is a panel that shows the topics Instagram thinks you care about and lets you change them. Instagram's blog dates the rollout:
- 10 December 2025: announced for Reels, starting in the US.
- 15 April 2026: extended to Explore.
- 10 June 2026: described as live across Feed, Reels and Explore, globally in English.
Instagram calls it one unified system, so a change you make in one place updates recommendations in all three. When a post in your feed was recommended because of one of your interests, it carries a label such as "From Running", and you can tap that label to see related posts or update your preferences. You can also share your algorithm to your story.
The two Instagram pages disagree on one point. The Help Center article, Tune your algorithm on Instagram, still says on 23 October 2026 that the feature is in testing and may not be available to everyone, depending on region, while the blog says it is live. We found no list of regions, so if you cannot find it, it may not have reached your account yet.
How do you see your algorithm on Instagram?
Open Reels or Explore and tap the icon in the corner, the one with two lines and hearts. You can also go to Settings and activity, then Content preferences, then Your algorithm. The page shows a summary of your recent interests, which Instagram's blog describes as an AI-generated summary of the topics influencing your recommendations.
From there you can tap an interest to see more posts about it, or tap Why you're seeing this to learn why it counts.
For one post instead of your whole feed, tap the three dots on the post, then Why you're seeing this post. Instagram's ranking explainer, dated 31 May 2023, says it then lists some of the signals behind what you are shown.
How to change your algorithm on Instagram
Add what you want more of and less of in Your Algorithm, then use the smaller controls as posts appear. The Help Center's steps for Your Algorithm are:
- Tap Reels or Explore, or go to Settings and then Content preferences.
- Tap the icon in the corner of Reels or Explore.
- Under What you want to see more of, tap Add and type an interest.
- Under What you want to see less of, tap Add and type another.
- To drop an interest, tap it, then tap Remove interest.
Interests that go against Instagram's Community Standards cannot be added to the "more" list.
The smaller controls, each described by Instagram:
- Not interested. On a suggested post in Feed, tap Options, then Not interested. Instagram's Feed Recommendations page, updated 29 June 2026, says Instagram will no longer show posts from that author and will try to demote similar content. The same menu lets you stop suggestions containing certain words, or snooze all suggested posts in Feed for 30 days.
- Interested. Where Instagram offers it, an Interested option sits beside Not interested. Meta described it for Explore in November 2024.
- Following and Favorites. Tap Following on the home screen to see posts from accounts you follow, newest first, with no recommended content. Posts from accounts you add to Favorites are prioritised in your main feed. Both come from Instagram's Feed page, updated 29 June 2026.
What can you do after a reset to shape what comes back?
Use the same behaviours Instagram says feed the system. Its ranking explainer says your activity is the first signal for Feed and for Reels: what you have liked, saved, shared and commented on. Its Help Center says suggestions personalise again as you like, share and engage. So the time right after a reset is a chance to be deliberate:
- Like and save the kinds of posts and reels you want more of.
- Tap Not interested when one misses, instead of scrolling past it.
- Add a few interests in Your Algorithm so Instagram has your own words to work from.
Does a reset change how my own posts reach people?
Instagram does not say a reset changes your own reach. Its pages describe the reset and Your Algorithm as changes to what you are shown, and say nothing about how your own posts are ranked for other people, so we make no claim about it.
If reach is the goal, Account Status is the screen Instagram points creators to, and two pages of ours cover it: why Instagram reels are not getting views and how to increase organic reach on Instagram. For how ranking works, see what Instagram says about its algorithm. If Account Status flags something, how to fix an Instagram shadowban walks through it.
Where this stops working
- No timeline. Instagram does not say how long suggestions take to settle after a reset.
- Unclear overlap. We could not find a page that says whether a reset also clears the interests you added in Your Algorithm. Instagram describes them as separate tools, so check the panel after a reset.
- Interests, not accounts. Instagram's pages describe Your Algorithm as topics you type in, and describe no way to rank particular accounts there. Favorites and Following do that.
- Availability. Neither tool is available on a computer, and Your Algorithm may not have reached every region.
- Dates. The ranking explainer is from 31 May 2023, and the Transparency Center pages we cite were updated on 29 June 2026. Instagram can change any of this.
- What we left out. Press reports about how topic controls might affect a creator's distribution, because we found nothing from Instagram on it.
Reset once if your feed feels stale, name a few topics, and tap Not interested when a post misses. Those are three ways to steer what Instagram suggests to you.
Sources
All read on 23 October 2026:
- Instagram Help Center, reset your suggested content: the steps and what a reset keeps.
- Instagram Help Center, tune your algorithm: the steps and the testing note.
- Instagram Help Center, hide suggested posts in your Feed: Not interested, certain words and the 30 day snooze.
- Instagram blog, Your Algorithm: posted 10 December 2025, updated 15 April and 10 June 2026.
- Meta newsroom, 19 November 2024: the reset test and Interested.
- Instagram Ranking Explained, 31 May 2023: signals, surveys and controls.
- Meta Transparency Center, Instagram Feed and Feed Recommendations, both updated 29 June 2026: Following, Favorites and what Not interested does.
What is ours and what is not. Nothing here is an inDM measurement. It is Instagram's published wording, with the date we read it.