How does instagram algorithm work and why do some of my posts get more views than others and how does IG decide what to show me in Explore? t’s hard to trust what you don’t understand, and for that reason, with this article about how does Instagram algorithm work I want to explain what I’ve learned and combine the information that has been officially released by IG.
There are many misconceptions and it is necessary to clarify. As you continue reading the article you will find a wealth of information that will shed light on how IG’s technology works and how it affects the experiences people have on the app: how does the instagram algorithm work is our ultimate guide and article about it.
One of the main misunderstandings is precisely the existence of ‘The Algorithm’ as according to officially released information, IG does not have an algorithm that governs what people do and do not see in the app. A variety of algorithms, classifiers and processes are used, each with its own specific purpose and asking how does instagram algorithm work can be very difficult to answer but not impossible.
So, let’s go on with this how does the instagram algorithm work article and let’s talk more about the IG algorithm despite officially… it doesn’t exist!
Indice
how does instagram algorithm work: what is it
how does instagram algorithm work article mentioned in the introduction that one of the main misunderstandings is precisely the existence of ‘The Algorithm’. According to officially released information, IG does not have an algorithm that governs what people do and do not see in the app.
As we said, IG team officially claimed that a variety of algorithms, classifiers and processes are used, each with its own specific purpose and with the combination of these technologies, the user experience is customised to make the most of dwell time. The time of use of the platform is also an element that is taken into account when displaying content but in fact IG has a particular algorithm and we want to talk about it on this article.
In the beginning, when IG was launched, the user viewed a single stream of photos in chronological order. But with the growth of users, and therefore the exponential increase in publications, it was difficult to show all posts and this first sight of the IG app can answer to your main question how does the instagram algorithm work.
In 2016, people were missing 70% of all their posts in the feed, including almost half of the posts of their close contacts and to remedy this, a feed was introduced that ranked posts according to preference and this is the first step where this how does instagram algorithm work article starts.
Each section of the IG app – Feed, Explore, Reels – uses its own algorithm, tailor-made, and adapts based on how it is used by people as for example, people tend to look for their closest friends in Stories, but want to discover something completely new in Explore and this is exactly how does the instagram algorithm work!
how does the instagram algorithm work: Feeds and Stories as starting point!
As you can see this articled titled how does instagram algorithm work started to talk about feeds and stories on IG. The Feed and Stories, are places where people want to see content from their friends, family and those they are closest to and this is the starting point for understanding how does the instagram algorithm work is to break it down into steps.
With Feeds and with Stories on IG this is relatively straightforward: these are all the recent posts shared by the people you follow. There are some exceptions, such as ads (ADS), but the vast majority of what you see is shared by the users you follow.
how does the instagram algorithm work? Very easy to understand: next, Instagram, collects all the information about what has been posted, the people who have posted those posts and your preferences and this information collected is called ‘signals’ and there are thousands of them, signals include everything from the time a post was shared to your phone or web usage to how often you like videos and this is how does instagram algorithm work!
The most important signals in Feeds and Stories, in order of importance, are: Post information. These are signals both about how popular a post is – how many people liked it – and more mundane information about the content itself, such as when it was published, how long it lasts if it’s a video and in what location(tag location) if any but we want to see more in the next paragraph of this how does the instagram algorithm work article.
Feeds and Stories on IG
how does instagram algorithm work articles has as starting point to understand how does instagram algorithm work the feeds and the stories on the platform. We talked about post information but there are some more signals to have a look to understand how does instagram algorithm work.
Information about the person who posted it, this info helps you understand how interesting the person might be to you and includes signals such as how many times people have interacted with that person in the last few weeks. But there is one extra signal to have a look on: your activity that actually helps you understand what you might be interested in and includes signals such as how many posts you have liked.
Of course more signals from feeds and stories can help you out to understand how does the instagram algorithm work and one of this is your history of interacting with someone. This gives the algorithm an idea of how interested you generally are in seeing a particular person’s posts, for example is whether or not you comment on other people’s posts and how you can see this is another way to understand how does instagram algorithm work
Algorithm predictions in IG feeds and stories and from all the information gathered above, a series of predictions are made. These are plausible assumptions about the likelihood of interacting with a post in different ways, there are roughly a dozen of them but let’s talk more about the algorithm predictions in the next paragraph of this how does the instagram algorithm work article.
Algorithm predictions in IG feeds and stories
Before, in the previous paragraph of this how does instagram algorithm work article we talked about Algorithm predictions in IG feeds and stories. From all the information gathered above, a series of predictions are made and these are plausible assumptions about the likelihood of interacting with a post in different ways.
There are roughly a dozen of predictions that you can have a look on, the likelihood that you might spend a few seconds on a post commenting on it. The more likely you are to take an action, the higher you will see the post and signs are added and removed all the time to bring out what you are interested in.
If you want to understand how does the instagram algorithm work you need to have a look on this predictions. This is exactly how does instagram algorithm work and there are some cases where other factors are taken into account, for example, we avoid showing too many posts from the same person in a row.
Another example are IG Stories that have been “shared” from Feed: until recently, these IG Stories were considered less important, as they were not considered “original” (they were considered as a duplicate as the post was already present on IG). IG, however, decided to change this assessment as it was assessed that in certain situations users were sharing posts (such as the victory of their favourite team, the national team, or news or social themes) and therefore too many accounts would be penalised but let’s see in the next paragraph much more about how does the instagram algorithm work.
how does instagram algorithm work: Ban and Explore!
how does instagram algorithm work articles is now about the function called Explore: IG is keen to make it clear that it wants to be inclined to let people express themselves, but when someone posts something that may jeopardise the safety of another person, it will intervene. Most of all the rules [IG guidelines] focus on protecting people and if something is posted that goes against the Community Guidelines it will be removed, if this happens repeatedly, it initially leads to the blocking of shares, and then to the suspension of the account.
Another important case to note is misinformation. If you post something that the third-party fact checker labels as misinformation, it is not removed, but labelled as misinformation and penalised in organic reach and if you have published misinformation several times, your entire account will be penalised and from this you can easily understand how does the instagram algorithm work.
Thinking about how does instagram algorithm work is thinking about the fact that IG has a very complex algorithm and you can check it out having a look about the function called Explore that is designed to discover new content. The grid is made up of recommendations, photos and videos that are offered based on your interests and it’s very different from Feeds and Stories, where the vast majority of what you see comes from the accounts you follow.
Again, the first step IG takes is to define a set of posts to categorise and to find photos and videos that you might be interested in, signals such as: posts you’ve liked, posts you have saved, posts you have commented on. In practice, this means that if you are interested in photography or marketing you might see posts on related topics if you like a famous photographer IG page and this is how does the instagram algorithm work!
how does the instagram algorithm work
And here we are at the last section of this how does instagram algorithm work article still sticking on the Explore function which can easily make you understand how does the instagram algorithm work. Once you’ve found a group of photos and videos that you might be interested in, they are sorted according to how interested IG thinks you are in each one, just as explained earlier in the Feed and Stories classification.
The best way to guess how interested you are in something is to predict how likely you are to do something with the post. The top rated actions in Explore include likes, saves and shares and the most important signals that are observed are: Post information where it is examined how popular a post seems to be.
Of course if you are still wondering on how does the instagram algorithm work how there are more signals to consider. Signals such as the number and speed with which other people like, comment on, share and save a post are considered and these signals are much more important in Explore than in Feeds or Stories, but also your history of interaction with the person who posted and the most likely the post was shared by someone you’ve never heard of, but if you interact with them this gives you an idea of how interested you might be in what they share.
Another signal is your business and these are signals such as which posts you’ve liked, saved or commented on, and how you’ve interacted with posts in Explore in the past. Information about the person who posted are signals such as how many times people have interacted with that person in recent weeks, to help you find interesting content from a wide range of people and this is how does the instagram algorithm work, easy to understand, isn’t?
Conclusion
This article on how does instagram algorithm work is now over but we have some more advice for you. The way you use IG heavily influences the things you see and don’t see.
You help improve the experience simply by interacting with the profiles and posts you like, but there are some more explicit things you can do to influence what you see.Choose your close friends. You can select your closest friends for stories and this is designed as a way to allow you to only share with the people closest to you, but we’ll also prioritise these friends in both feeds and stories.
Mute people you’re not interested in and you can mute an account if you want to stop seeing what they share, but are reluctant to stop following them altogether. All those steps are in order to better understand how does the instagram algorithm work and if you want to know how does instagram algorithm work you must take a look on it.
Lastly, mark recommended posts as ‘Not interested’ and whenever you see a recommendation, whether in Explore or in the Feed, you can indicate that you are “not interested” in that post. This how does the instagram algorithm work articles is not over, go on our blog and check out for more and more articles!
