Instagram users can now curate which topics shape their Feed recommendations. Here's how that changes what your content actually reaches.
Instagram just handed users the keys to their own algorithmic kingdom. Starting June 2026, the Your Algorithm feature expanded from Reels to the main Feed, Reels, and Explore, letting people view, remove, and add topics that shape what they see. For businesses, that's a seismic shift in how content gets discovered.
Your Algorithm is Instagram's transparency tool. It shows users a list of topics the platform associates with their interests. Users can then remove topics they don't want to see (even if they used to engage with them), and add new topics to surface more of that kind of content. It's the opposite of passive algorithmic sorting. It's opt-in curation.
Before this, algorithms decided what you saw based on your past behavior. Now Instagram users can override that by explicitly saying what they don't want. For a manufacturer, retailer, or service provider, that means your content can now be actively filtered out by audiences who don't want your topic category in their feed.
You can't directly tell Instagram which topics to assign to your business. But you can influence it by being deliberate and consistent about your messaging. Use clear, specific captions that describe what you sell or offer. Choose hashtags that directly match your product category, not aspirational or loose ones. Post content that stays on-topic and delivers value to your specific audience segment.
Vague, try-hard, or off-brand content now works against you. A plumbing contractor posting motivational quotes unrelated to plumbing might have gotten algorithmic visibility before. Now, users who've opted out of 'motivational content' and into 'home services' won't see it.
Source: Search Engine Land, June 11, 2026.
How WebKing runs this
We manage your Instagram presence to ensure your content aligns with the topics your customers are actively choosing to see, maximizing visibility in feeds where it counts.
Potentially, if your content doesn't match the topics your audience actively wants. Users can now remove entire topics from their feeds, so if your brand gets associated with a topic a customer has blocked, your content won't appear to them. Being intentional about how your products and content are categorized is now critical.
Instagram doesn't publicly show businesses what topics their content is tagged with in the algorithm. You'll need to test by creating content, monitoring engagement, and adjusting based on performance. Work with your social team to identify which topics your audience is actively selecting in their Your Algorithm settings.
Not directly. Instagram's algorithm infers topics from your content, captions, hashtags, and audience signals. You influence this by being explicit and consistent in how you describe your products and services in your posts, and by ensuring your content quality and relevance are strong.
Yes. Make sure your captions and hashtags clearly signal the topics you want to be associated with, since Instagram's algorithm learns from this language. Avoid vague or broad tags; be specific about what you actually offer so users searching for those exact topics find you.
Sources
The Lab is original analysis by WebKing. We summarize and interpret developments from the sources above for industrial, commercial, and small business owners. Figures are reported as published by their sources.
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