Instagram Attempts to Demystify its Recommendations and ‘Shadowbanning’
Instagram’s top executive, Adam Mosseri, has issued a comprehensive explanation of how the social media giant’s recommendations work, in a bid to address misconceptions about its algorithm and whether it engages in ‘shadowbanning’ of certain creators. In a recent post, Mosseri provided one of the most detailed insights yet into the app’s content ranking process across various sections of the platform.
Contrary to common belief, Instagram does not rely on a singular algorithm. Instead, it employs multiple algorithms and ranking systems that govern different areas of the app, including Explore, Reels, Stories, and Search. These algorithms use a variety of signals to determine how content is ranked for each user. For instance, the order of posts in the main feed is influenced by a user’s past activity and previous interactions with the person who made each post. Similarly, Stories posts consider viewing history and “closeness,” or how likely users are to be connected as friends or family. Recommendations in Explore, on the other hand, are primarily based on posts users have liked, saved, shared, and commented on in the past, and are more likely to come from accounts users have never interacted with.
The post also addressed the controversial issue of ‘shadowbanning.’ Although there isn’t a universal definition for the term, Mosseri acknowledges that many creators use it to imply that a user’s account or content is limited or hidden without a clear explanation or justification. The company is actively working to increase transparency when creators’ content or accounts are blocked from the app’s recommendations.
Mosseri specifically pointed to Instagram’s “account status” feature, which can alert users if one of their posts or their account is deemed “ineligible” for recommendations. This feature also offers an appeals process. This is not the first time Instagram has addressed the issue of ‘shadowbanning,’ but there has been a notable shift in how the company talks about the topic.
In a similar vein, Mosseri expressed that Instagram is striving to improve transparency in instances where a creator’s content isn’t widely distributed due to a policy violation. As he put it, “If anything makes your content less visible, you should know about it and be able to appeal”. Mosseri also mentioned that Instagram is testing new notifications to help creators understand when the reach of their reel may be limited due to a watermark, in an ongoing effort to discourage users from posting recycled TikToks to Reels.
Despite these explanations, some creators remain unsatisfied. The recent details, highlight the growing importance of algorithmic recommendations to Instagram. As the app re-introduces an optional chronological feed, Mark Zuckerberg has stated his objective to transform Instagram and Facebook into a “discovery engine” that prioritizes recommendations over posts from friends.
