Instagram’s Upcoming Feature to Let You Personalise Reels—Will It Impact Creators?

Instagram is testing a new control that lets people personalise what they see in Reels by adding or removing interest topics, not just relying on watch time or likes. In practical terms, you’ll be able to open a “tune your algorithm” screen, browse suggested topics, and tick on the ones you want more of, fitness, street food, and finance, while unticking those you’re tired of.

In a post on Threads, Instagram's chief Adam Mosseri said the new feature will be introduced to Reels first, followed by plans to expand it to the Explore tab. “We’re also exploring what a version of this would look like on Threads,” said Mosseri, hinting that personalisation could also be made available to Threads users because recommendations drive most of its viewing.

Set to be available under the new Your Algorithm section in Settings, the feature would show the topics that you have been watching on reels as part of a summary on top. According to the screenshot shared by Mosseri, the feature showed that he had been “into Luxury Watches, Fashion Week, Bad Bunny, Stand-up Comedy, and Concerts.” Below this summary are topics that you can choose from to curate your reels algorithm further.

For everyday users, this should reduce random or repetitive clips, make the feed feel more relevant, and cut the time spent teaching the algorithm through trial and error. You could stop seeing irrelevant reels, but also the reels that do not belong to the topics you have chosen, but could potentially interest you.

For creators, the change is a mixed bag. The upside: audiences who opt into your niche are more likely to convert, save, and comment, which can increase session time and genuine engagement. The risk: passive reach from broad, catch‑all content may shrink as users prune topics, making generic hooks less effective.

The change could cause formats to shift toward clearer topical signals with strong titles, on‑screen keywords, and consistent series, so the recommendation system can classify videos accurately. Creators may need to tighten their content taxonomy (one niche per reel), add explicit interest tags in captions, and maintain consistent visual branding so opted‑in viewers recognise them at a glance.

While personalisation puts more power in the audience’s hands, it could cause creators to change their content. It won’t kill discoverability, but it will reward creators who are specific, reliable, and easy for both users and the system to understand.

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