To stand out on Instagram, you need to keep posting original content. But to make your account grow fast, you must learn how the Instagram algorithm works.
The platform has become more crowded, and the Instagram algorithm changes make organic reach harder to get. Even your most creative posts can get lost if you don’t know what the system prefers.
So, if you want your content to get the attention it deserves, you need to look at what really drives growth on Instagram. Curious? Let’s take a closer look.
What is the Instagram Algorithm?
The Instagram algorithm is a system that decides which content appears for your audience on the platform based on certain ranking factors.
Basically, it helps organize the feed so that when they open the app, they see the most interesting posts first, including your awesome content.
But it’s not only for the main Feed; it’s also for Stories and the Explore page. That’s why the algorithm on Instagram isn’t just a single formula. They use “a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes” to get the job done.
The system then adjusts content display based on where you are in the app or what feature you use. So, the way your main Feed looks is different from how Stories are organized.
The main Feed shows posts from your most engaged accounts and recommended content from Instagram. And Stories are more about recent updates from friends and followed accounts. The same goes for your audience.
Also, the Instagram algorithm is personalized. It changes based on your interactions. When you like a post or follow a new account, your feed will change accordingly.
The algorithm also tracks your likes, comments, shares, saves, and watch time to get a sense of your interest. So, the content you see also changes based on your recent activity.
On top of that, Instagram updates and trends mean what you see today might change tomorrow. And the Instagram algorithm changes happen to improve user experience with diverse content.
This includes new Instagram updates like Trial Reels and Recommendations Reset. Your Reels will be tested with non-followers first, and the reset helps algorithms rebuild your feeds.
Read: Followers vs Following on Instagram
How Does the Instagram Algorithm Work?
The Instagram algorithm promotes and ranks content to determine what users see first. Now, here’s how the Instagram algorithm works:
1. The Guidelines Set
It all starts with clear rules and community guidelines. The Instagram algorithm learns from the guidelines to better understand what’s appropriate and adjusts how it ranks content.
2. Content Profile Built
When you post something new, the Instagram algorithm takes a look. It figures out what type of content it is and reads the caption and hashtags. Basically, it gets a quick summary of format, metadata, and purpose of your content.
3. Initial Filtering
Before your post is shown to a wider audience, it’s checked against Meta’s community standards. If it contains nudity, violence, spam, or other banned content, it’s taken down or hidden.
Instagram’s AI also detects issues like spam, irrelevant hashtags, engagement farming, and misinformation to ensure safety. You might also get shadowbanned, too.
4. The Initial Test Run
Instagram doesn’t blast your new post to everyone instantly. It first tests it on your most active followers. This process helps Instagram decide if your post is worth the spotlight.
5. Signal Reading
The algorithm constantly monitors signals like who they engage with, what they watch, how long they stay on certain posts, and how often they use the app. It compares these signals to your content.
6. Promotion or Limitation
Based on the guidelines, test results, and signals, the algorithm decides how widely to share your post.
If your post gets high engagement, the algorithm boosts it to more followers. Plus, more chances to appear on Explore. Otherwise, the algorithm might reduce its reach and organic growth.
7. Ranking
Once your content is approved for a larger audience, the Instagram algorithm starts working to decide where it shows up based on personalization and prediction. It then uses various signals to prioritize content in your Feed and Explore.
Instagram Algorithm on Feed
On Feed, you’ll see posts from followed accounts, suggested content, and ads. The Instagram algorithm ranks everything to show the most relevant posts based on your preferences.
Basically, the Instagram algorithm on Feed looks closely at:
- What you do — what users you share, save, or comment on shows what you’re interested in.
- Details about the post — how many likes, comments, shares, and saves it has, plus when and where it was posted.
- Who posted it — a content creator’s profile and how often you’ve interacted with them recently.
- Your past interactions — if you comment back and forth with someone, it shows you’re interested in their posts.
Using these basic signals, the AI-driven Instagram algorithm predicts how the content will be delivered:
- How likely are you to reshare a post?
- How long do you stay in reels-iv after clicking a reel on your home feed?
- After seeing the top post, how long do you keep scrolling?
- How likely are you to move to the next post?
- Are you likely to visit the profile of the person who made the post?
- Will you click to leave a comment?
- Do you skip the first post in your feed?
- Will you tap a reel to watch it full screen?
- Are you likely to spend more than 10 seconds on the first post?
- Do you look at a post briefly and then move on without doing anything?
Not only that, but when you mute someone on Instagram, add a post to your favorites, report a post as spam or a hoax, or unfollow someone, your feed changes, too.
Not to mention that Reels, which now make up about 38.5% of your Feed, are especially favored on your feed in general. So, you’ll see more videos than photos. And the same goes for your audience.
For a content creator, it’s not just about getting attention. It’s about making people engaged to get the algorithm to help you stand out on the Instagram feed.
Instagram Story Algorithm
Instagram Stories let you share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. They show up in a bar at the top of the app, so your friends or fans can see what you’re doing right now.
The Instagram algorithm decides which Stories you see first based on a few key things:
- What you watch most — It remembers your frequently viewed Stories, keeping those accounts at the top. If you keep checking someone’s Stories, they’ll appear first next time.
- How much you interact — Reacting, replying, or sharing Stories from certain accounts are signals of interest. The more you engage, the higher their Stories appear at the top.
- How close you are — It tracks how often you follow or DM each other. If you’re more connected, their Stories are more likely to appear at the top, like those from your mutuals.
- How new the Stories are — The latest Stories are given priority, so you see the newest updates before older ones.
Based on these basic signals, the content delivered to you will be based on:
- Are you likely to click on the story at the top?
- Will you respond to the story’s question?
- Are you friends with the author?
- Will you reply after watching?
- Will you like the story?
- Will you visit the author’s profile?
- Will you save the reel effect to your camera?
- Will you swipe to the next story?
- Will you tap to exit the story?
- Will you interact with polls or sliders vote of a story?
Simply put, the algorithm looks at these actions: tapping to view a story, liking it, or replying. These actions show you’re genuinely interested in that account’s Stories and want to see more.
And just like on Feed, muting someone, reporting a story, changing sensitive content settings, or unfollowing someone, your Instagram Stories are customized for you based on that.
New Instagram Algorithm in Reels
Instagram Reels is a feature that lets you make and share short videos up to 3 minutes long. You can add music, effects, and filters to make your videos more fun.
It helps you find new content, even from people you don’t follow. It’s great for creators, as this type of content can go viral fast.
So, how does the Instagram algorithm work when it comes to Reels? Basically, it uses a few main signals to decide what to show you:
- What you do on Reels — When you like, save, share, comment on, or watch Reels, it tells the Instagram algorithm what you like.
- Your history with a creator — If you’ve interacted with a creator before, the algorithm remembers. It might show you their new Reels, even if you’re not following them.
- Reel Details — The algorithm remembers your interactions with Reels, Stories, or posts. It uses that to predict if you’ll like new content, even from people you don’t follow.
- Creator’s account status — Your account details, like follower count and engagement rate, help Instagram find and promote engaging Reels from different creators.
- Watch Time — Watching a Reel all the way through or replaying it signals your interest. That prompts the algorithm to serve it to more viewers, expanding its reach.
The Instagram Reels algorithm tries to guess how you will interact with videos. Your actions help decide if you will see a Reel and where it will appear. For example:
- How often you’ll reuse a reel’s audio in your own creations?
- Will you hit the skip button in less than three seconds?
- Do you want to tap ‘Interested’ or ‘Not Interested’ below a reel?
- Will you drop a comment on a reel?
- How often you’ll watch more than 95% of a reel compared to others?
- What’s the chance you’ll tap a vertical Reel in Explore for fullscreen viewing?
- How often you’ll borrow a reel’s audio for your own videos?
- How ready you are to reshare a reel?
- Will you share a reel outside Instagram?
- How eager you are to follow the reel’s creator?
Keep in mind, if you hide a Reel, the algorithm will show you fewer of those types. Also, tweaking your sensitive content settings can help filter out content you find offensive or sensitive.
Explore Page Algorithm
The Instagram Explorer page is a personalized feed that shows you new content, accounts, and topics based on what you’ve interacted with. It’s a mix of photos, videos, Reels, and Stories from both well-known creators and newer users.
So, how does the Instagram algorithm decide what lands on your Explore page? It sizes up content based on a few key signals:
- Popularity — This is very important in Explore. It shows how fast and how many likes, comments, shares, and saves a post gets.
- Your Activity — The Instagram algorithm looks at what you’ve liked, saved, shared, or commented on before.
- Your History with the Creator — Your history with the creator matters, but many Explore posts are from new accounts. So, your past interactions aren’t always necessary.
- Creator Account Information — Creator account details like recent interactions help the system find diverse content beyond your current follows.
These signals will help suggest what you might see on the Explorer page. The suggestions are based on things like:
- How many times you click the follow button on a post in Explore?
- How long you look at posts from the same author in Explore?
- How many people have seen the post on Explore?
- How many times you’ve commented on posts from that author?
- How many reels you’ve liked?
- How many times the post has been clicked on in Explore?
- How likely you are to interact with the post?
- Which authors’ profiles you’ve clicked on recently?
- How likely you are to share a post again?
Top Instagram Algorithm Ranking Factors
To maximize your content’s reach on Instagram, it’s important to understand the key factors that influence how your posts are prioritized by the latest Instagram algorithm:
- Watch Time — The amount of time people spend on your content is one of the top ranking factors for Instagram. It’s about how long someone watches your post. If they stay longer, it shows your content is good, and Instagram will promote it more.
- Engagement — Likes, comments, and shares are also important signals. The Instagram algorithm focuses on both the number and speed of interactions, especially in the first few hours.
- Interaction — This is how users engage with content and accounts, from viewing a post or Reel full screen to swiping through a carousel and visiting a profile.
- Relationships — The Instagram algorithm looks at how close you are to an account. It shows more posts from people you are closer to, like friends, family, and your favorite creators.
- Relevance — The algorithm reviews your past activity to identify your interests and uses that to judge how relevant new content is to you, especially on Feed and Stories.
- Timeliness — Newer posts are often shown first because people like fresh content. But an older post that is relevant can sometimes outrank the newer posts for some users.
- Originality — The new Instagram algorithm rewards originality. It now ranks fresh, unique content higher. Reposting from other accounts may hurt your visibility.
The New Instagram Algorithm Updates in 2025
Here are some major Instagram algorithm updates you need to know in 2025:
The Use of AI-Driven Algorithm
On March 2025, Instagram announced they now use AI systems and multiple machine learning models to enhance user experience.
Moving away from rules-based algorithms, their AI-driven approach learns and adapts over time to rank content based on personalized signals.
Focuses on Originality
The main challenge for new creators is competing with established influencers, even if their content is authentic.
Thanks to the new Instagram algorithm, content creators who share unique content can also stand out on the platform.
What if the algorithm relied solely on engagement? It would be tough for newcomers to gain traction, right?
Shares are More Important
Instagram now prioritizes shares over likes or comments because they indicate the content’s value and relevance, especially for unconnected accounts.
With that in mind, to boost organic reach, you need to focus on creating content that encourages sharing beyond your followers or niche.
Trial Reels Introduces
Last year, Instagram launched Trial Reels for creators to test content with non-followers before sharing publicly.
These reels don’t appear on your profile or main feed. It allows you to experiment and gauge audience reaction without risking followers.
Recommendation Reset Feature
Not only can you use the new AI-driven Instagram algorithm, but you also have the option to use the reset algorithm to make the system start learning the user’s preferences from scratch.
The Reset Suggested Content feature helps creators show high-quality, original content to attract a new audience, including those who have just reset their recommendations.
Replacing Reposts With Original Content
The new Instagram algorithm really puts a focus on original content. It now prefers original posts over reposts in recommendations.
So, when there are several versions of the same thing on the platform, Instagram will tend to highlight the original creator’s version in places like the Explore page and Reels feed.
Adding Labels to Reposted Content
The new Instagram algorithm promotes proper attribution by adding labels with links to original creators on reposted content.
This helps address content aggregation and ensures the real creators receive proper credit and recognition.
Separate Ranking Systems for Different Content Types
Instagram uses different algorithms for Feed, Stories, Explore, and Reels, each analyzing unique signals. The Feed considers your activity, Stories focus on interacted accounts, Explore helps find new content, and Reels emphasize short video entertainment.
As a creator, you need to adapt your content to fit different algorithms. Don’t rely on just one type of content or strategy.
Instagram SEO Is Important
The new Instagram algorithm makes the platform feel more like a search engine, with AI powering the search page to help users find content, topics, or creators.
This highlights the importance of using the right keywords, clear captions, and good tags so your posts are discoverable. If you’re new to Instagram SEO, now’s a great time to start, as it increases your content’s visibility in searches.
Content Tips for the New Instagram Algorithm
Now, you know the algorithm inside out, right? But as a content creator, what’s the fastest way to stay ahead? Here are some simple tips for you:
- Make your own content — Don’t repost others’ content more than 10 times a month without new ideas. Instagram’s message is clear: reposts won’t appear in recommended feeds.
- Make sure your content is original — It’s always better to create your own. Instagram rewards originality and tends to reward unique ideas and fresh styles. The algorithm favors creativity.
- Create shareable content — Shares now matter more than likes on Instagram, especially for unconnected content. Posts that inspire sharing, even if unrelated, can boost your reach.
- Use Trial Reels — Make great Reels and post them. Instagram now shows your videos to non-followers first. If they like and watch, more people see your video, helping you gain followers.
- Avoid overly polished content — The new Instagram algorithm favors authenticity, which drives higher user engagement. So, focus on real content to build real connections.
- Post Stories often to reduce unfollows — If you don’t post Stories often, start now. Posts regularly can reduce unfollows. They show you’re active on Instagram and boost your profile’s visibility.
- Avoid clickbait — Instagram is against engagement farming; posting artificial content to boost likes and comments can be penalized. The Instagram algorithm can find and limit content that tries to do so.
- Reply quickly to comments — Posting at the right time on Instagram is not enough. Fast responses show you care and improve your chances with the Instagram algorithm.
- Balance your Instagram content formats — Relying on just one type limits your chances. If you use different types, you increase your chances of being noticed by the AI ranking system.
- Encourage profile visits — Profile visits boost your posts’ visibility. Use engaging hooks or mentions to drive clicks and signal value to the algorithm.
- Engage with similar niche accounts — This helps the AI categorize your content, improves algorithm understanding, and boosts your reach to interested audiences.
Instagram Algorithm 2025: A Wrap Up
If you’re new to Instagram, standing out can feel hard. But now that you understand how the algorithm works and how it affects your content visibility.
With that knowledge, you can then experiment with different topics or posting times to create content that Instagram prefers to promote, whether in the feed or on the Explore page.
But keep in mind that Instagram algorithm changes often. To stay ahead, you need to monitor your content performance, and keep up with the latest updates.
That’s all for now. We hope this information helps you grow as a content creator. And for more Instagram tricks and tips on how to earn more from your content, you can subscribe to our blog.
