Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with millions of users sharing photos, videos, and stories every day. However, one of the most intriguing and mysterious aspects of Instagram is its algorithm, which determines which posts and content are displayed to each user in their feed.
What’s behind the platform’s algorithm is a closely guarded mystery. However, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has published an article in which he revealed some details about how the technology works.
Although it does not fully explain how the algorithm is programmed on the social network, the article can provide guidance for those who want to have more access to their content.
Understand how the Instagram algorithm works
Adam Mosseri explained that Instagram doesn’t have just one algorithm, but rather several. A system programmed with Artificial Intelligence determines which content should appear on your feed.
“Each part of the app uses its own algorithm tailored to how people use it. People tend to look for their closest friends in Stories, use Explore to discover new content and creators, and have fun in Reels. We rank things differently in these different parts of the app.”says Mosseri.
In the feed, the algorithm defines the content that should be displayed to each user. Thus, the technology sends to your application publications that should be of interest to the user, considering their behavior on the platform.
In other words, if you usually like and follow profiles that publish content about animals, the algorithm realizes that this topic is of interest to you.
The technology also records your likes, shares and even the time you spend viewing a particular photo or video in a database.
“From there, we make a set of predictions. These are guesses about how likely you are to interact with a post in different ways. There are about a dozen of them.”says Mosseri.
“In Feed, the five interactions we look at most closely are how likely you are to spend a few seconds on a post, comment, like, share, and tap on the profile picture.
The more likely you are to take an action and the more we weight that action, the higher in the feed you will see the post.”he explains.
More about Instagram
With an intuitive interface and engaging visuals, Instagram has become a place for creative expression and a powerful medium for sharing experiences, interests, and inspiration.
With millions of daily active users, the platform plays a significant role in digital culture, influencing trends, fostering communities, and providing a platform for self-expression and social connection.
