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Instagram tests placing 'suggested posts' throughout your feed

It's also introducing new controls to shape its recommendations.

Instagram

More than five years after Instagram moved away from a strictly chronological feed, the company may have another more significant change in store for how you view content on its platform. Instagram told The Verge it’s starting a test involving a “small number” of people where they’ll see the platform’s “suggested posts” interspersed throughout their feed. In some cases, that means the recommended content Instagram puts in front of you will appear before photos and videos shared by your friends.

Instagram
Instagram

Instagram first introduced suggested posts last summer. The feature generates new content for you to scroll through after you’ve seen any recent photos and videos from accounts you follow. In addition to putting suggested content throughout the feed, the company will test new controls that will allow people to shape where those posts come from, as well as disable the feature for a limited time. The test includes a new settings option that will allow you to add specific topics you want to see when the app generates a suggested post. You can further tweak Instagram’s recommendations by providing feedback on a specific post, letting the platform know if something it showed you was inappropriate or wasn’t a match for your stated interests. Those same controls also allow you to hide suggested posts from your feed entirely for 30 days.

A spokesperson for Instagram told Engadget it’s conducting the test in response to positive feedback the company collected about “the quality of recommendations” it’s been delivering with suggested posts. It’s hard to tell how people will feel about this latest change. Most Instagram users still lament the loss of the chronological feed. It’s also one thing to put recommendations after you're all caught up and a completely different thing to do so throughout the experience.