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The social network Instagram tried to clarify several aspects about how your organizing algorithm works and explained the criteria you follow to choose which posts to show first in the feed. He also explained why some posts have less visibility than others from the same account.
When it was launched Instagram in 2010, the social network showed the posts of the accounts that the user followed in reverse chronological order. However, with the growth of the platform, in 2016 users did not see 70% of the publications and almost half of the content was lost.
For this reason, it currently uses a series of algorithms to personalize your experience, not just one as is commonly believed, one of several misconceptions that users have. Instagram wanted to clarify how the feed algorithm works to be more transparent, as its director, Adam Mosseri, assured in a statement.
In the case of the feed or publication board, and the ephemeral content Stories, Instagram selects all the content published by accounts that the user follows. It also uses what it calls signs, thousands of custom indicators for each user.
Instagram signs They include information about the post, such as the number of likes it has had, when it was published, its duration if it is a video, and the location.
The level of interaction with other users or recent account activity is also analyzed. With this information, Instagram carries out a series of predictions, educated guesses about the probability that the user will interact with a publication.
The Instagram feed algorithm takes into account five types of interactions– Have the user spend several seconds on a post, comment on it, like it, save it, or click on the profile photo. The more likely it is for each post using the signals, the sooner the content is displayed. The signals and predictions are periodically renewed.
The stories
In the case of Stories, Instagram did not usually prioritize content shared from other platforms. However, currently set an exception for when sharing Stories from other platforms at large sporting events or social protests.
There are other exceptions, such as cases in which a publication is identified as disinformation or those in which the content violates the content policy. In these cases the publication is silenced.
The algorithm in explore
The Explore section of Instagram uses a different algorithm than the feed and Stories, as users seek to discover new content. Instagram focuses on providing recommendations.
In these cases, Instagram selects the content that the user has liked, saved or commented on. Next, look for the activity of other users who have the same interests to suggest new content.
Once you have a series of publications in which the user might be interested, the Browse order works similarly. Instagram uses the same signals to predict the probability that the user is interested in each one.
Operation of reels
Instagram also clarified how it organizes the content of its section Short video reels, which is designed to entertain the user.
To find out what content is entertaining, the social network carries out a series of surveys. Users are asked if they find a Reel entertaining or fun.
The indicators for prediction become, as in the case of To explore, user activity, interaction with the account that publishes it, information about the post and the popularity of some channels.
Silenced publications
Likewise, Instagram responded to users who think that the social network silences some publications because they receive lower interaction figures, such as likes, than other content.
«We cannot promise that you will constantly arrive to the same number of people when you post. The truth is that most of your followers will not see what you share, because most look at less than half of your feed, “according to Mosseri.
However, the platform acknowledged that it could have done more to explain the reasons for removing the content. It ensures that it is developing better in-app notifications for this feature, and it explores new ways to let users know when a post goes against their policies.
