Observed Signal · Jun 17, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Social Platforms Let Users Control Recommendation Algorithms
Major social platforms are introducing tools that let users customize their recommendation algorithms using AI. Threads launched a private "Your Algo" feature on June 16, 2026, building on its earlier public "Dear Algo" tool and allowing users to set topic preferences for one, three or seven days. Instagram expanded its "Your Algorithm" controls — first added to Reels in December 2025 — across feed, Explore and Reels, showing topics that influence recommendations and letting users adjust them. TikTok’s "Manage Topics" (launched 2024) lets users slide topic preferences and added AI-powered Smart Keyword Filters in 2025 to block synonyms. Platforms argue these controls improve relevance and engagement; proponents say LLMs make recommendation models more explainable and allow explicit user preference signals.
Major social platforms (Threads/Meta, Instagram, TikTok) are changing recommendation controls and using LLM/AI to make feeds more transparent and user-tunable — a platform-level shift that can affect engagement, audience signals, ad targeting and measurement across the industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Threads launched a private "Your Algo" feature on June 16, 2026, allowing users to privately set content preferences for one, three or seven days.
- Threads previously offered a public "Dear Algo" tool (debuted February 2026) to signal feed preferences via public posts.
- Instagram expanded its "Your Algorithm" tool (initially launched for Reels in December 2025) across feed, Explore and Reels to let users view and edit topic signals shaping recommendations.
- TikTok's "Manage Topics" tool (launched 2024) lets users adjust topic sliders; in 2025 TikTok added AI-powered Smart Keyword Filters to automatically block related keywords and synonyms.
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Instagram adds quick controls for Your Algorithm
Instagram is testing new quick-access controls for its 'Your Algorithm' personalization tool so users can adjust recommendations directly in the Home Feed and while watching Reels. Early previews show 'Your Algorithm' could open via a pull-down in the Home Feed or a swipe out of a Reel, and in-feed buttons like 'more of this' and 'less of that' are being trialled to change recommendations in real time without leaving the current content. Meta says some features are already being tested or prepared and others may be abandoned. Instagram also plans to let users actively select topics (e.g., fitness, travel, recipes) to influence future recommendations, which could shift which engagement signals matter for creators, brands and measurement on the platform.
Instagram tests new ways to customize 'Your Algorithm'
Instagram is experimenting with additional ways for users to access and personalize "Your Algorithm," the app’s tool for specifying topics they want to see more or less of. In a post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri showed UI tests including pulling down on the feed to open a Your Algorithm menu, swiping up from a Reel to access customization, and buttons beneath Reels to indicate whether a user wants to see more content like that. Mosseri said some changes are testing now, some are coming soon, and some may not ship. Instagram originally launched Your Algorithm in December 2025. Several users responded asking the algorithm to prioritize content from accounts they follow.
Meta Unveils 'Dear Algo' for Personalized Threads Experience
Meta has introduced an AI-driven personalization feature for Threads called "Dear Algo" that lets users shape their content-recommendation algorithm by posting a public prompt starting with the phrase "Dear Algo" describing what they want to see more or less of. Requests adjust a user's feed for three days and can be reposted to apply another user's preferences. Meta is initially testing the feature in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand. The launch is part of Meta's broader push to integrate AI across its apps — including recent AI updates to Facebook — and follows the company's disclosure that it plans to spend $115–$135 billion this year on AI-related capital expenditures. Threads reported about 400 million monthly active users and is beginning a global ads rollout, per recent company statements.
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