Instagram is experimenting with bringing tools to control your own algorithm to Threads, its X rival.
The feature was uncovered while in development by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who discovered the code and told TechCrunch it’s related to the algorithm configuration tools that are also coming to Instagram. When contacted, Instagram confirmed the product is still an internal prototype for the time being and is not currently being tested with users.
However, the Instagram account being used for this feature is live at @threads.algo and is followed by several Meta engineers.
According to Paluzzi’s findings, Threads users would be shown a screen explaining they could tag this account to tell Threads what they want to see more or less of in their feed.
The idea is similar to one Elon Musk recently said was coming to X. In a post, Musk suggested that a future version of his platform would allow users to tag Grok — X’s AI chatbot — to adjust their feed in real time, and that the X algorithm would be “purely AI by November.”
The algorithm will be purely AI by November, with significant progress along the way.
We will open source the algorithm every two weeks or so.
By November or certainly December, you will be able to adjust your feed dynamically just by asking Grok. https://t.co/lsEcAGu0SK — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 19, 2025
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