The Instagram algorithm, in Instagram’s own words
There is no single algorithm: what Feed, Reels and Explore each rank on, what makes a post ineligible, and the myths.
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On this page
The short answer
Instagram has no single algorithm: Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels each rank posts their own way. For Reels, the most important predictions are whether you will reshare it, watch it all the way through, like it and open its audio page; Explore leans on likes, saves and shares. Unoriginal, watermarked or reposted content is made less visible or not recommended at all.
Updated
Work with it, step by step
- 01
Hook in the first 3 seconds
Instagram’s own advice: make the first 3 seconds engaging “so that people don’t move on”.
- 02
Make it worth finishing and sending
Full watches and shares are what Reels ranks highest. One clear idea per reel, under 3 minutes.
- 03
Post originals, without watermarks
Film or make each reel new; never cross-post with another app’s watermark.
- 04
Test with Trial Reels
Trial Reels go to non-followers first and can be shared to followers automatically based on views in the first 72 hours.
- 05
Post regularly
Instagram notes that the creators with the fastest follower growth post 10 or more reels a month.
- 06
Check Account Status
If reach drops suddenly, see whether your posts are still eligible to be recommended to non-followers.
What Instagram actually says
One app, several rankings
“Instagram doesn’t have a singular algorithm.” Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels each use their own, tailored to how people use them.
Reels: shares and full watches
The top predictions are reshare, watch “all the way through”, like and going to the audio page. Meta’s system card also predicts DM shares and whether you watch less than three seconds.
Explore: likes, saves, shares
Explore shows mostly accounts you do not follow, so how popular a post is matters “much more in Explore than they do in Feed or in Stories”.
Originals get recommended
Since 30 April 2026, accounts that mostly post unoriginal photos, carousels or reels are not recommended. Adding a border, watermark, subtitles or a credit does not make a repost original.
Up to 3 minutes for reach
Reels are recommended to people who do not follow you only if they are “3 minutes or less”.
Five hashtags, and relevant
Since December 2025 a post or reel takes up to 5 hashtags. Irrelevant ones can cost engagement and distribution.
The sources
Only Instagram’s and Meta’s own pages and Adam Mosseri on the record, read on 2 October 2026. Where a source is old, its date is given. Percify is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.
Instagram ranking explained
Adam Mosseri’s explainer of Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels.
Source: about.instagram.com; quote: How Instagram works (2021), read Invalid Date
- What it ranks on
- Reels: reshare, watch all the way through, like, open the audio page
- What loses reach
- Watermarked, low-resolution, muted, bordered, mostly-text or already-posted reels
- Date
- 31 May 2023
Meta system cards
Meta’s published ranking predictions for Instagram Reels and Feed.
Source: transparency.meta.com; quote: Feed card, read Invalid Date
- What it ranks on
- DM shares, watching more of a reel than 95% of viewers, watching under three seconds
- What loses reach
- Not covered
- Date
- Updated 11 November 2025 and 29 June 2026
Instagram for Creators
The originality update, the creators FAQ and the Trial Reels announcement.
Source: creators.instagram.com; quote: Creators FAQ, read Invalid Date
- What it ranks on
- Reels up to 3 minutes for non-followers; hook in the first 3 seconds
- What loses reach
- Accounts that mostly post unoriginal photos, carousels or reels are not recommended
- Date
- 30 April 2026
Your Algorithm
The topic control, live across Feed, Reels and Explore since 10 June 2026.
Source: about.instagram.com; quote: Recommendations reset, read Invalid Date
- What it ranks on
- Topics each viewer chooses to see more or less of
- What loses reach
- Not covered
- Date
- 10 June 2026
What loses reach
Watermarks and reposts
Low-resolution or watermarked reels, muted reels, reels with borders, mostly-text reels and reels already posted on Instagram are made less visible.
Aggregating other people’s work
An account that mostly reposts loses recommendations until most of its recent posts are original again over 30 days.
Recommendation Guidelines
Posts against them stay up but are not recommended; repeat offenders lose recommendations for all posts for a while. Account Status shows whether you are affected.
“Shadowbans”
Instagram says hiding accounts without explanation is “not our intention” and points to Account Status. Most of your followers simply do not see every post: most “look at less than half of their Feed”.
Mass-made, near-identical posts
They read as unoriginal on Instagram and as spam on YouTube and TikTok. Make one new video each time, even when the format repeats.
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
Each part of the app ranks separately. Reels predicts whether you will reshare, watch to the end, like and open the audio; Explore weighs likes, saves and shares; Feed weighs time spent, comments, likes and reshares. Viewers can also steer topics with Your Algorithm.
Up to 5, the maximum since December 2025, and only relevant ones. Instagram warns that irrelevant hashtags can cost engagement and distribution.
As long as the idea needs, but 3 minutes or less if you want it recommended to people who do not follow you.
Instagram says hiding content without explanation is not its intention. Posts that break its Recommendation Guidelines stay up but are not recommended, and Account Status shows whether that applies to you.
Yes. Since April 2026, accounts that mostly post unoriginal content are not recommended, and adding a credit, border or subtitles does not count as making it original.
Instagram’s Help Center defines views as the number of times your content was displayed; for reels, the developer API counts the number of times it was played.