Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows users, especially teens, to reset their content recommendations across Feed, Explore, and Reels.
This was announced in a statement released on Tuesday by Meta, as part of Instagram’s continued efforts to offer safer, more personalized, and age-appropriate experiences on the platform.
“We want to make sure everyone on Instagram –especially teens – has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they’re spending on Instagram is valuable,” they said
The new feature enables users to clear their recommended content with just a few taps, offering them a fresh start in curating what they see on the platform. After resetting, the recommendations will begin to personalize again, based on the content and accounts users interact with.
“Your recommendations will start to personalize again over time, showing new content based on the content and accounts you interact with. When resetting, you’ll also have the option to review the accounts you’re following and unfollow any that share content you no longer want to see,” they stated
Instagram users, including teens, will also have the option to review the accounts they follow and unfollow those that share content they no longer wish to see.
Parents’ guide to organization
To help users manage their Instagram experience, the platform has also partnered with organization experts Joanna and Clea from The Home Edit to share tips for parents on how they and their teens can organize their Instagram accounts, similar to organizing their homes.
“just like they’d organize their homes, taking stock of what they’re looking at every now and then to see whether it still suits them and whether there’s other content they may prefer,” they said.
- Instagram has long offered tools to personalize recommendations, including options for users to indicate what they like and dislike. By tapping the three-dot menu on posts, users can select “Interested” or “Not Interested” to further shape their content experience.
In addition to the content reset, Instagram offers a range of tools for teens to manage their experience.
- Following Feed: Allows teens to view content from the accounts they follow in chronological order.
- Favorites: Let teens prioritize specific accounts, ensuring content from those accounts appears more frequently and higher in their Feeds.
- Close Friends: Gives teens more control over who sees their Stories, allowing them to limit visibility to a select group.
To address the concerns of parents on teens encountering inappropriate content online. Instagram has implemented stricter rules around age-appropriate content. A new page on Instagram’s Transparency Center is a guide to help parents and teens better understand how this approach to content works even if it’s shared by someone they follow.