A commonly expressed frustration with algorithmically-driven apps like Instagram is that users have no control over their feeds. They are instead shown what the app thinks they want to see, which is often wildly inaccurate.
Meta is promising to provide at least a partial solution to the problem with a new feature called Your Algorithm …
Prior to the update, Instagram’s Reels feed worked exactly the same way as TikTok: you got to see what the app thought you would like without any control over it.
Wired reports that Meta is now addressing this.
Starting today, users will now see a list of what Instagram considers to be your top, recent interests. This kind of peek behind the algorithmic curtain is already uncommon in social media apps, but Meta is taking it a step further by allowing Instagram users to influence their algorithm directly by picking topics they want to see more or less often in Reels. This feature, called “Your Algorithm,” […] is landing on Instagram first for those in the US, with a global rollout for English users in the works.
You can’t, however, escape the AI altogether.
When a user opens the new “Your Algorithm” tab on Instagram, they’ll see a brief summary of what they’ve “been into” while scrolling through Reels. The topics displayed are based on recent user activity, and the summaries are made using generative AI. Meta’s examples of topics that users could add with the new feature include “Horror movies,” “Chess,” and “College football.”
You also have the option of sharing this summary of what the algorithm has learned about you with your Instagram followers.
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Image: Meta