Instagram explains the algorithms by which it shows or hides content from its users

Regulations that make posts on social networks more or less visible are under increasing regulatory scrutiny and subject to constant complaints from creators, who live from exposure who don’t understand the ups and downs. Which is why Meta has chosen to provide more transparency about them to relieve that pressure, in this case on Instagram. your boss Adam Mosseri Provide some details on the platform blog about What makes one piece of content appear more than another in each part of the app.

This pre-clarification is important for understanding the general operation of Instagram since then They all have their own algorithm that works in a customized way. This demonstrates the post’s potential unequal performance in a public broadcast, stories, short video, search, or popular content area, due to the different usage in each case. For example, the average application user tends to use formatting stories With your closest contacts and expect to find short videos from content creators when you check out reelsAccording to Mosseri.

On this basis, one of the contentious issues facing Instagram is the introduction More and more posts created by authors that are not being followed by the user in their main stream, like TikTok, up to 30% of the total. This lever provides greater visibility into popular content that the platform considers may be of interest to the user and keeps them engaged for longer, but it does so at the cost of reducing in some cases those sources they choose to follow. The coexistence of sources and advertising constitutes the most common user experience, which is built from what the application perceives as “beacons”.

This concept is based on prior information based on the interest of the user according to different types of previous interactions with different content or data about the popularity and context of each post, as well as the attraction of its author or if a user the application has done something about it in different ways. Instagram determines the potential interest generated by the content Depending on how much time he estimates he will spend consuming it, if the profile picture of the person who created it will be enlarged or if there will be interactions on it (Comment, click like or share).

The platform is taking a step towards transparency to deal with regulatory pressure and complaints from creators working on it about the vagaries of visibility.

The higher the calculated odds of any of these things happening, and the more value Instagram places on any of them, the faster the post will appear to the user. Although Mosseri explains that other factors also fit into the result, such as an intention to avoid showing too many tracks for the same person or too many posts outside of a user’s watchlist. And in the process this is also taken into account Seeing certain types of content will be reduced by default For being flagged as false by independent investigators or for violating the platform’s internal rules.

These instructions are very similar to the one that states that the post appears in one form or another in different parts of Instagram. And in all of these spaces, the application allows each user to influence what is offered to them. Using tools like using your favorites or close friends list to limit who can see your stories, as well as muting recommendations or content sources you’re not interested in.