--- title: "Instagram and Facebook Now Let You Steer Your Feed" description: "Instagram and Facebook now let you describe what you want to see. Here's how to use those controls, plus a ten-minute routine for a calmer feed." url: https://boslaai.co/blog/instagram-facebook-your-algorithm-controls language: en --- # Instagram and Facebook Now Let You Steer Your Feed > Instagram and Facebook now let you describe what you want to see. Here's how to use those controls, plus a ten-minute routine for a calmer feed. _BOSLA AI Team ยท 2026-11-04_ You open Instagram to reply to one message. Ten minutes later you're on your fourth Reel about a topic you never chose. You didn't pick any of it. The feed did. Something has quietly changed, though. Over the past year, Instagram and now Facebook have added controls that let you tell the algorithm what you want in plain words. They're easy to miss, and most people haven't touched them. Here's how to use them, and how to fill the gaps they leave. ## What's new: you can describe what you want Instagram introduced [Your Algorithm](https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/reels-algorithm-control), a way to personalize your Reels recommendations and adjust your interests. On October 13, 2026, [TechCrunch reported](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/facebook-is-giving-users-more-control-over-their-algorithm/) that Meta is bringing the same idea to Facebook. You describe, in your own words, the topics you want more or less of, and the changes show up in your Feed and Reels. Facebook may also ask follow-up questions about what you liked or didn't. On Facebook you can find it from the three-dot menu on a post. The report doesn't say which countries get it or when, so if you don't see it yet, the older tools below still work. ## The tools that work today ### 1. Tell the app "Not interested" This is the oldest control and still the most useful. On Instagram, tap the three dots on a post and choose "Not interested" to say you don't want similar content, as [Instagram describes it](https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/reset-instagram-content-suggestions). Facebook has the same option in its post menu. Do it in the moment. A quick "not interested" the second something appears teaches the feed more than a week of quietly scrolling past. ### 2. Reset suggestions when the feed has drifted Instagram's [recommendations reset](https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/reset-instagram-content-suggestions) clears the recommended content in Explore, Reels and Feed so you can start fresh. Recommendations then personalize again based on what you interact with. During the reset you can also review the accounts you follow and unfollow the ones you no longer want. It's a bigger move than a single "not interested", so keep it for when the whole feed feels off. ### 3. Prune who you follow Suggestions are one half of the feed. The other half is the accounts you chose years ago. Spend five minutes scrolling your following list and ask one question per account: do I still want this in my day? Unfollow or mute the rest. Muting keeps the account without letting it set your mood. ### 4. Choose what you reply to and watch Every like, comment and long watch is a vote. If a topic keeps showing up that you don't want, stop giving it your attention, even the angry kind. The feed can't tell the difference between interest and irritation. ## What to actually type If Your Algorithm is available to you, specific beats vague. "Less" works as well as "more". A few examples of the kind of sentence you could write: - "Show me less celebrity gossip and more cooking videos." - "Fewer breaking-news clips, more long explanations about personal finance." - "More football highlights, less drama between creators." - "Less content about things to buy." Keep each one short and about a single topic. Then check back after a few days. If the feed hasn't moved, say it again in different words, and keep using "Not interested" on individual posts while it catches up. ## A five-step routine you can finish in ten minutes 1. Set a ten-minute timer and open Instagram. 2. Scroll the home feed without tapping anything. Write down two or three things that feel off. 3. For each one, use "Not interested" on a few posts, then try Your Algorithm if it's available to you and describe the topic in a sentence. 4. Go through your following list and unfollow or mute at least five accounts. 5. Repeat on Facebook, then pick one small rule for the week, like no Reels before lunch. If you'd like a steady rhythm for this, our [15-minute weekly feed review](https://boslaai.co/blog/weekly-feed-review-15-minutes) turns it into a habit. And if X or LinkedIn is where your time leaks, we have guides to [cleaning up your X feed](https://boslaai.co/blog/clean-up-your-x-twitter-feed) and [making LinkedIn less distracting](https://boslaai.co/blog/linkedin-feed-less-distracting). ## What platform controls can't do Be realistic about the limits. These tools work after the fact: you see the post first, then react. They depend on the app, and the app decides how much weight your answer gets. They also change often, so the menus you learn today may move. They also don't help much with the small stuff that pulls you off task, like a thumbnail that grabs you in the middle of a lecture or an ad that cuts into a tutorial. That part is easier to handle at the browser level. And it isn't a willpower problem. When you open an app tired or in a hurry, nobody is standing next to you to choose for you, which is why we'd rather set things up once while you're calm than resist every single time. ## Where a browser tool fits BOSLA AI is a Chrome extension for YouTube on desktop, and it's in Beta. Its Blur feature can cover thumbnails, faces and sensitive images before you read them. You choose what it covers, and the detection runs on your device. The Ad Blocker removes most video ads. If YouTube is your biggest time sink, you can read how it works in [how to blur YouTube thumbnails](https://boslaai.co/blog/blur-youtube-thumbnails), and see the built-in options in [how to reduce YouTube Shorts distractions](https://boslaai.co/blog/how-to-reduce-youtube-shorts-distractions). It doesn't touch Instagram or Facebook, and it doesn't replace the habits above. It just means less to clean up on one of the places you spend the most time. ## Start with one account Don't try to fix every app tonight. Pick the one you open most, spend ten minutes on it, and see how the next few days feel. If you want to try the extension for YouTube, you can find it at [boslaai.co](https://boslaai.co).