According to Fast Company, Instagram is launching a new “Tune Your Algorithm” feature starting today for its three billion users. The tool, which leverages AI, lets users pick topics they want to see more or less of on their Explore page. Users will first see a list of suggested topics the algorithm thinks they like, which they can then modify. Instagram’s Vice President of Product, Tessa Lyons, stated the company has been working on predicting interests since 2020 but wants to give people more control as interests change. Users can also share their selected interests to their Stories. This move is a direct response to the common complaint of being stuck in an algorithmic loop, like seeing white bean soup recipes forever after one search.
Why This Matters Now
Look, this isn’t a revolution. It’s not a chronological feed, and it’s certainly not the level of control you get on a platform like Bluesky. But here’s the thing: it’s a huge signal. For years, the black box of the algorithm was the platform’s ultimate power. You could mute words or snooze suggestions, but you couldn’t just tell it, “Hey, I’m over skateboarding fails, show me less of that.” This is Instagram, owned by Meta, admitting that pure, opaque automation doesn’t always cut it. User frustration has reached a point where it’s a business risk. So they’re throwing us a bone. A small, AI-curated bone, but a bone nonetheless.
The Real Competitive Play
So who wins and who loses? Honestly, this feels like a defensive move more than an offensive one. The winners are users who feel heard, even if the actual impact is modest. The losers? Well, it puts subtle pressure on every other algorithm-driven feed—looking at you, TikTok and YouTube. Once one giant offers a knob to turn, however simple, its absence elsewhere becomes more glaring. But let’s be skeptical for a second. Does this actually change the core business model? Not really. You’re still in a feed designed to maximize your engagement and time spent. You’re just getting a slightly better steering wheel for the ride. The real question is: will people actually use it, or is it a “set it and forget it” feature buried in settings?
A Shift in Philosophy
Tessa Lyons’s quote is the most telling part. She says they “do a pretty good job today, but we don’t always get it right.” For a top product exec at one of the world’s most powerful social platforms to admit that publicly is a big deal. It basically acknowledges the algorithm isn’t an infallible god, but a fallible tool. That’s a meaningful philosophical shift, even if the practical changes are incremental. It moves from “we know what’s best for you” to “help us help you.” I think we’ll see more of this across the industry—more transparency, more user tweaks. Not because the companies suddenly believe in digital democracy, but because the alternative is rising user churn and regulatory pressure. This is the bare minimum of control becoming the new standard. And that’s probably a good thing.
