• by Colin Kirkland , 5 hours ago

As Meta tests new feed designs on both Facebook and Instagram, the social-media giant has announced that all U.S. Instagram users are now able to manually control which Reels are algorithmically suggested to them.

The “Your Algorithm” control option appears in the top right-hand corner of the Reels tab and attempts to explain to users what kinds of video content Meta’s algorithm thinks individual users are interested in, providing visual examples of what kinds of videos might be included in certain categories.

Users are then invited to add or remove topics from a designated list, effectively altering the Reels that surface in their feed. Users can also select topics they never want to see reflected in their Reels feed.

According to a video posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Meta is also beginning to test similar controls in the app's search tab.

“For the long run, we want to bring this to the main feed and the home tab as well,” Mosseri says, adding that first the company will focus on rolling out the Your Algorithm tool in languages other than English.

The introduction of manual Reels controls comes as Meta is prioritizing its short-form video feed across its family of social media apps. In October, the platform began running a test that replaces the home tab with Reels.

At the time, Mosseri announced that over the coming months the company would “reorient the app more around DMs, Reels, and recommendations” – features that, according to Mosseri, have driven almost all of Instagram's recent growth.

These changes also coincide with Instagram's newfound iPad app, designed specifically to feature Reels when users open the app's home tab.