Instagram will let users 'reset' their recommended content
Too often, a curious teen comes across the wrong Instagram influencers or accounts and finds their feed flooded with similar suggestions.
It could've been a relatively harmless foray into content they don't want to see all day, every day, like horror movie fan accounts. Or, it could be something more dangerous, such as influencers promoting disordered eating or certain conspiracy theories.
Now teens will finally have a way to cleanse their feed of recommended content, which is based on their recent activity and who they follow. On Tuesday, Instagram announced that it's testing a "reset" feature.
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The tool, slated to roll out globally after a short testing period, will be accessible in the content preferences menu. With three clicks, users will be able to clear out suggestions for Instagram's Explore, Reels, and Feed products. During the process, users will be prompted to review and unfollow accounts they don't care for any longer.
Teens also won't be the only ones to take advantage of resetting their content recommendations. Instagram is making the feature available to everyone, ostensibly because a feed full of uninspiring or mismatched suggestions isn't only a teen problem.
Instagram already allows users to curate their recommendations by labeling specific posts as "interested" and "not interested," as well as hide content with captions that contain certain words or phrases.
Instagram has also debuted other features related to teen safety and well-being in recent months.
In September, it launched restrictive "Teen Accounts" for users under 16. Last month, the platform announced tools to combat financial sextortion, which devastates victims and largely affects teens.
Instagram's parent company, Meta, is a defendant in a lawsuit against it and other major social media platforms. The complaint alleges that the companies' products exploit children and adolescents, including by exposing them to an "algorithmically-generated, endless feed" to keep them scrolling. Meta has disputed the claims.
Topics Instagram Social Good Social Media
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
