Instagram is testing a new feature which allows people to completely remove all the content being recommended to them.
Its “reset” tool – which it says will be available globally “soon” – effectively cleanses a user’s feed of content suggested by the site’s algorithm, though Instagram says recommendations will “start to personalise again over time.”
It comes as Instagram has announced a raft of new features aimed at improving the wellbeing of people on the platform, with safety features in October following new teen accounts launched in September.
The UK media regulator, Ofcom, welcomed the announcement – but said more action would be needed to make social media safe.
“It’s good to see Instagram bringing these changes in before regulation starts to bite, and we’ll be pressing for companies to do more to protect and empower their users,” it said in a statement.
Tech firms have previously been warned they will need to “make very significant changes” ahead of the UK’s new Online Safety Act (OSA) taking full effect.
“When the UK’s online safety laws are fully in force, the largest sites and apps will have to give people more control over what they see,” the Ofcom statement added.
Some campaigners argue the OSA does not go far enough, and will need to be toughened or supplemented with other restrictions, for example on mobile phone use by young people.
There is also a fierce international debate on how to keep young people safe online, with Australia recently proposing banning social media for under-16s.
Meta – which owns Instagram – says the new system will be available to everyone including those with teen accounts, and will let people to reset their recommendations “in just a few taps.”
“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,” Meta said in a blog post announcing the move.
Users who want to refresh their feeds will be able to select “reset suggested content” from their “content preferences” screen.
From there, they will be asked if they want to unfollow the accounts whose posts are shown to them most often.
At that point, users can then reset their feeds.
People who use Instagram can already have some impact on what is recommended to them by telling the algorithm whether they are interested in posts they see or not.
TikTok already has a similar feature, where people can reset their “For You” feed by following a few steps.
Instagram’s move comes ahead of implementation of the Online Safety Act in December, which will set a ticking clock for tech firms.
Companies like Meta will have three months to assess the risks of illegal content appearing online, and will have to take steps to block it.
Separately, the regulator will finalise its Children’s Safety codes of practice in April 2025, which is set to include a requirement for firms to give children more control over what they see in their feeds on social media platforms.
