How to Change Suggested Reels on Instagram

Instagram is a great place to go if you want inspiration, ideas, and access to accounts and content that you…

Instagram is a great place to go if you want inspiration, ideas, and access to accounts and content that you might otherwise have never discovered.

As such, there are a number of different ways that Instagram introduces you to new content – from the Discovery / Explore page, to recommended posts in your newsfeed, suggested content in your Instagram story carousel, people that Instagram thinks you might like to follow, and the suggested reels tool.

What Instagram aims to do through all of these different avenues, is consider and take into account the content that you usually engage with and search for and show you more content like that moving forward. It makes suggestions for the types of content it thinks you might find interesting – with reels just one of the most popular formats of short form video content flooding the platform.

But the reels that Instagram suggests aren’t always relevant – and seeing too many of them can only alter the algorithm in favour of content that you may not necessarily want to see.

Here’s how to change suggested reels on your Instagram feed, so that you only see content that you want to see.

5 Steps to Change Suggested Reels

  1. Open Instagram and tap on the Reels icon along the bottom of the screen – depicted by a square with a play button in the centre of it.
    How to Change Suggested Reels on Instagram 1
  2. A reel will instantly start playing. On the screen, click on the three horizontal dots which will be positioned underneath the like and comment icons.
    How to Change Suggested Reels on Instagram 2
  3. This will open a menu offering you a series of different actions. At the bottom of the list, click on ‘Manage Suggested Content’
    How to Change Suggested Reels on Instagram 3

Another page will appear, inviting you to populate some information on the content you’re interested in and not interested in. You can also see your account’s approach to sensitive content and identify any custom words or phrases which you have removed from your own Instagram experience. The more information is captured in this setting, the more accurate your suggested content will be.

  1. This is where altering your position in the suggested content algorithm becomes a bit more difficult, because it’s quite a manual process. In order to populate the Suggested Content setting with insight into what you want to see, you need to scroll through some reels and mark them with ‘Interested’ or ‘Not Interested’ tags.
  2. To do this, anytime you view a reel, click on the menu button (the horizontal dots) and select ‘Interested’ or ‘Not Interested’ from the action list.

Over time, completing this process will finetune your suggested reels content and will let Instagram know what you do and don’t want to see on the app.

To view the next reel, simply swipe up!

How Does Instagram Decide Which Reels to Suggest?

Aside from the process above with gives you control over what Instagram offers to you in the form of suggested content, Instagram largely bases this feature on the kind of content that you engage with and interact with.

Your behaviour on the app, what you search for, what you interact with, and the kinds of accounts that you follow and hashtags you use all contribute towards Instagram’s version of you on the app.

This insight allows the app to create a personalised experience for you.

When you pay more attention to the content that Instagram recommends, and take action to change certain things and show topics to be of interest or not, you are teaching that algorithm how to best respond to your preferences on the app.

This not only improves your access to suggested reels and makes your scrolling experience more personal and relevant, but it’s a great feature that helps to keep users safe.

How Often Should You Review Suggested Content?

The more time you spend reviewing your suggested content, the more personalised your experience on the app will be.

We recommend reviewing and adjusting your ‘Interested’ and ‘Not Interested’ list anytime you experience a change in the way you use the app, to keep Instagram aligned and updated with your lifestyle and what you want to see.

Elevate your Instagram game with Twicsy’s assistance. Opt for our comments, likes, followers, and video views.