Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing social media platform that allows its users to post and edit photos and videos and share them with their followers. Instagram also offers other features such as sharing stories and sending direct messages. The platform is known for its unique features like Suggest and Reels.
One of the most interesting features offered by Instagram is the draft. It allows you to continue making a post you were in the process of making but had to leave it halfway through without saving it because something happened. This way you won’t have to do everything from scratch. If you want to know more, visit my other guide to find out where these drafts are kept: Where Are Drafts on Instagram Android.
What Is Instagram Suggest?
The Suggest feature suggests content based on the user’s activity on the app, namely the accounts they have interacted with, searched for or liked. This feature helps make the app more personalized for each user, with a tailored experience based on their interests and preferences.
What Is the Reels Feature?
Reels is Instagram’s new short-form video feature, which allows users to create and share videos up to 60 seconds long. The feature is similar to TikTok, allowing users to add music, filters, and effects to their videos to make them more engaging. Reels have quickly become a popular way for users to showcase their creativity and reach new audiences on the app, leading to increased engagement and growth for many accounts.
What Is a Suggested Reel?
Now it is easy to understand what a suggested reel is. A suggested reel is a reel presented to you by Instagram based on certain algorithms. When browsing reels, you see these reels a lot more often than other types.
Easy-mode
How to Remove Suggested Posts from Instagram
Open Instagram – Proceed to a suggested post – Tap on the three-dot icon – Tap on not interested – Tap on “Don’t suggest posts with certain words” to further customize your experience
How to Remove Suggested Reels from Instagram
Open Instagram – Proceed to a suggested reel – Tap on the three-dot icon – Tap on not interested – Tap on “Don’t suggest posts with certain words” to further customize your experience
Instagram Algorithm for Posts and Reels
Now that we know what a suggested reel is, we need to understand what this algorithm is as well, so we can optimize our experience on Instagram. The algorithm takes different parameters into account and points each reel or post based on them. Whichever posts have more points are considered more relevant and are shown first when you watch reels. The followings are some of these parameters:
- The time spent on each post or reel: Instagram can measure how much time you spend on posts or reels presented to you. Did you watch the reel until the very end? Did you watch it twice or thrice? These items can mark this video and those of similar categories as more likely to be suggested in the future. On the other hand, if you just skip the post or reel without spending time on it, Instagram will take notice of your behavior and is less likely to show similar posts and reels.
- Interactions with reels or posts: There are different interactions you can have with a post or reel. One of them is liking them. It is obvious that if you like a post or reel, then Instagram will show similar suggestions to you in the features. Saving and forwarding them also means you found them interesting, so it is also another positive factor. When you comment under a post, it means that it had piqued your interest.
- Your searches: What you search for on Instagram does matter. If you have been searching for cooking recipes, then you will be shown posts or reels related to cooking or anything else related to food.
- Users and their profiles: It is also important which users you have searched for on Instagram and which users you are following. Additionally, seeing your following users’ stories counts in the point system.
Why do people want to remove suggested Reels and Posts?
Sometimes, Instagram can take some of its measures to extreme levels. The other day, I needed some insight on what to put on my story for a friend’s birthday and I had no idea at all. So, I gave it a search, looked at some posts and reels, and that was it. Instagram kept showing me related posts and reels every day after that until I removed them from being suggested.
If you need some ideas for birthday stories, you do not need to search Instagram for them. Simply take a look at my guide here: Instagram Birthday Story Ideas.
How to Remove Suggested Posts from Instagram
Now let’s get to how we can get rid of these suggested reels and posts. The Steps are the same on all platforms. Whether you are using Android, iOS, or explorer won’t make difference in these steps.
Step 1:
First, open Instagram. Once you have it open, proceed to a post that you would like to see less from.
Step 2:
Once you are on the post, find the three-dot icon on the upper right side of the post, in front of the user’s name and next to the follow button. Tap on it.
Step 3:
If you do not want to see similar posts, tap on not interested. If the reason is something else, such as hate speech or anything against the community rules, you can tap on the report to report the post instead.
Step 4:
From now on, Instagram will show fewer similar posts to those on which you have processed this step.
- Please note that Instagram’s suggestions will not end with just doing this once. You may have to do it multiple times for it to take considerable effect. Keep in mind that every post is associated with more than one tag. Going through this process on different posts with the same tags you do not want to see helps Instagram find out about your tastes.
- You can also tap on the “Don’t suggest posts with certain words” option to let Instagram know you do not want to see them.
Step 4.1:
Tap on “Don’t suggest posts with certain words”. Tap on the highlighted area to type which words you do not want to see in the future.
Step 4.2:
Type what you do not want to be included in the posts suggested to you. Once you are done typing everything, tap on done.
- You can type words, phrases, and emojis.
- You can add more than one word, phrase, or emoji. To do so, separate them by a comma. Type them like this example: word 1, word 2, emoji 1, phrase 1, emoji 1, and emoji 2.
- Please note that only exact matches will not appear from now on. If you write “basketball”, then posts with this word will be omitted. If someone decides to write basketball as “basket ball” for fun, then this post will still get through the filter.
- Only words in hashtags and captions are counted and filtered.
- You can manage your list of such words, phrases, and emojis in your settings.
How to Remove Suggested Reels from Instagram
Now let’s get to how we can get rid of these suggested reels and posts. The Steps are the same on all platforms. Whether you are using Android, iOS, or explorer won’t make difference in these steps.
Step 1:
First, open Instagram. Once you have it open, proceed to a reel that you would like to see less from.
Step 2:
Once the reel is open and being played, tap on the three-dot icon in the lower right corner below the share, comment, and like icons.
Step 3:
From now on, Instagram will show fewer similar reels to those on which you have processed this step.
- Please note that Instagram’s suggestions will not end with just doing this once. You may have to do it multiple times for it to take considerable effect. Keep in mind that every reel is associated with more than one tag. Going through this process on different reels with the same tags you do not want to see helps Instagram find out about your tastes.
Step 4:
You can tap on “Don’t suggest posts with certain words” to set filters for reels as well. Keep in mind the following:
- You can type words, phrases, and emojis. You can add more than one word, phrase, or emoji. To do so, separate them by a comma. Type them like this example: word 1, word 2, emoji 1, phrase 1, emoji 1, and emoji 2.
- Please note that only exact matches will not appear from now on. If you write “basketball”, then posts with this word will be omitted. If someone decides to write basketball as “basket ball” for fun, then this post will still get through the filter.
- Only words in hashtags and captions are counted and filtered.
- You can manage your list of such words, phrases, and emojis in your settings.
Did you know you could add texts to your reels? Check this guide here to find out more: How to Add Text to Instagram Reels.
Please note that you also have the option to ask Instagram to not suggest posts or reels from certain users. This will not block them; Instagram simply will not suggest their posts and reels anymore. I do not suggest using this feature though. As you know, Instagram has a feature called joint post. If you put someone on the suggestion blacklist, any joint post they do in the future will not be suggested to you either. If you are curious to know more about this feature, check this guide here: How to Do a Joint Post on Instagram.
How to Change Instagram Suggested Reels as Per Your Taste
Now that we know how to get rid of those reels which we do not like, and we also know based on which parameters the algorithm for suggested reels and posts works, let’s see what we can do to shape the suggested reels and posts to your taste.
- Use the mentioned method to get rid of any suggestion you do not like.
- Naturally, you will be watching any reel you like completely. So, I am expecting this step to happen naturally.
- Make sure to fill the empty heart (like the reels). This is the most important thing you can do to improve your suggested reels toward what you like.
- If you like a reel, just take a look at the user’s profile page. If you liked their work enough, following them will help more.
- You can save all reels to which you would like to see similar reels. You can delete them anytime you do not want them anymore.
- Personalize your search based on what you do not want to see. You can even create a different account and completely personalize each based on certain topics and tags. You can have one account dedicated to sports and another one to fashion. You do all your sport-related searches with the first one and fashion-related searches with the second one. This way, you almost always get suggested reels and posts that you want to see.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q: The suggested reels I get are way too diverse, and I do not have time to deal with them all. Is there any other way?
A: If you do not want to deal with all the finger-work, you can delete your account and create a new one. You can read more about deleting your Instagram account here: How to Delete Instagram Account.
Q: How about Instagram highlights? Do they also count for personalizing suggestions?
A: Yes, they do. If you are curious to know more about them and how you can see who viewed your highlights, look at my guide here: How to See Who Viewed Your Instagram Highlights After 48 Hours.
Q: What do I do if you just do not want to see posts and reels from a certain user?
A: You can choose the option to not suggest posts and reels from that user anymore. Please note that this will not block them; you can follow them later. (Or they can follow you.)
Q: Sometimes, certain posts or reels bother me. How do I get rid of them?
A: If it is a certain post or reel that is bothering you and not its similar posts, you can choose the option “This post made me uncomfortable”. Instagram knows how to deal with it without harming your other suggested posts.
Conclusion
Instagram is one of the most popular social platforms out there. Instagram offers many features. You can post photos and videos, you can make reels, or share your moments in the form of stories, you can chat with other users, comment and tag people, etc. There are currently over 2.35 billion monthly active users which takes the variety of posts and reels on Instagram to a whole otherworldly level. Luckily, there is a suggestion system that works based on your activity. Today, I tried to explain what this system is and how it works, what algorithms it uses, how you can get rid of certain suggestions, how you can personalize your suggestions, and some common questions. Hope you found this guide useful. Good luck!
