How Do You Manage Content Displayed On Your Instagram Explore Page?

A large number of Instagram users discover new content by browsing the app. Many users frequently complain of getting the same type of content from the Discover page. There is no direct way to change it on the fly or turn it off completely. However, it takes some time to manage the content you want to see there.

The Explore page displays popular photos, searches, and locations. However, it may not show the content you want to see or like. If your Discover page shows content that doesn’t interest you, you don’t need to delete your Instagram account to start over. To some extent, you can manage the content that appears on the Explore page. First, let’s check out how the Discover page works.

How Does the Instagram Discover Page Work?

Before we discuss managing content on your Explore page, let’s take a look at how it works. According to Instagram, the Discover page helps users discover new posts by suggesting items with similar interests.

The first thing Instagram does when making a recommendation is to set a ranking for featured posts on the Discover page. Instagram solves this by evaluating posts you’ve previously saved, liked, and commented on. It then checks other users who interact with such posts and takes into account their preferences (as well as related posts). That’s why you’ll see such posts the next time you open your Instagram Explore page.

Behind the scenes, Instagram’s algorithm organizes these posts just as it does for Stories and Feed. It predicts your potential actions on posts. Such actions include saving, liking and sharing. Below is a list of signals that Instagram observes in order of importance:

• Shipment information: Instagram rates a post’s popularity based on how many likes, shares, comments, and saves users have on the post. All these signals are more important in Discover than Stories and Feed.

• Personal history with the sender’s account: Often times, posts on the Discover page are made by users you’ve never connected with. However, interacting with them at some point tells Instagram that you liked their posts.

• Your activity: These signals focus on posts you’ve already reacted to. They also take into account how you interact with posts on the Discover page.

• Information about the poster: Instagram checks how many times other users have interacted with the sender’s account recently. That way, he can discover interesting content from more accounts.

Now that you know how Discover works on Instagram, let’s discuss how to manage the content that appears on the Explore page. You will have to check the Settings which can be accessed when you click on the Profile picture in the lower right corner in the Instagram app.

Method 1: Reset Search History

This method is probably the easiest when it comes to managing your Instagram Explore page. But if you find that the content on your Discover page differs from your interests, the first thing to try is to reset your search history. Check out how to do this in the steps below:

Stage 1: Launch Instagram on your iPhone or Android device.

Step 2: Go to the lower right corner of the app and tap on the Profile icon.

Stage 3: In the upper right corner of the profile page, tap the Menu icon represented by three horizontal lines.

Step 4: Tap on Settings in the menu list.

Step 5: Tap on Security.

Step 6: Under the group called Data & History, tap on Clear search history.

Step 7: You should see all your recent searches here. Tap Clear All to clear the history.

Step 8: Instagram offers a prompt asking if you want to continue clearing your search history. Tap Clear All. Doing so clears your search history, which is an important factor in determining what you see on your Instagram Discover Page.

Method 2: Select I’m Not Interested in Posts

Another simple way to manage your Discover page is to select posts you’re not interested in. Doing so will remove such posts from your Discover page. Here’s how to manually change your Instagram Explore page like this:

Stage 1: Launch Instagram on iPhone or Android.

Step 2: At the bottom of the app, tap the magnifying glass icon that represents the Explore page.

Stage 3: Select any post that doesn’t appeal to you, then tap the post’s 3-dot menu.

Step 4: Select Not interested. Doing so will remove the post from your Discover page and Instagram will take note to suggest fewer posts like this.

Method 3: Manage Instagram Followers

As we mentioned before, Instagram offers post suggestions based on certain criteria on the Discover page. One of these criteria is the type of accounts you follow. If you don’t want to see certain content, you may need to unfollow accounts that post such content. Here’s how to unfollow accounts on Instagram:

Stage 1: Launch Instagram on your device.

Step 2: Go to the Profile Page by tapping the icon at the bottom left of the page.

Stage 3: Scroll to the top of the page and tap Following.

Step 4: Scroll through the list of accounts on the next page. Right next to each account there is Follow. If you find someone you no longer want to follow, tap Following to unfollow.

Method 4: Unfollow Hashtags

The hashtags you follow will also determine the type of content you see on your Discover page. Unfollowing hashtags on Instagram is similar to unfollowing them. Here’s how to do this:

Stage 1: Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or Android device.

Step 2: Select your profile photo from the bottom right corner.

Stage 3: Tap the Number Followed in the top left and go to Hashtags.

Step 4: Select the hashtag you want to unfollow.

Step 5: Tap the Follow button next to the relevant hashtag and select unfollow. Your account will immediately stop following these hashtags.

And thanks to this, you will no longer be able to see posts and videos related to that hashtag.

Fix Instagram Notifications Not Working

Curating the Explore page on Instagram is a tedious activity. If you don’t like the content shown there, you can take the issue and try to curate the content there. Although there are no guarantees, results will take some time to show and may not be immediate.