Instagram is really one of the most popular social media platforms out there. The Explore page is a great feature that shows you cool content based on what the algorithm thinks you like. This can vary from food, art, travel destinations, and anything else you interacted with.
In this article, we’ll show you how you can reset the Instagram Explore page in a few easy steps. We’ll also teach you how to manually filter the content you want to see and force the algorithm to adapt.
Why should I reset my Instagram Explore page?
While the feature is incredible to find new content to enjoy, sometimes it will become repetitive or provide irrelevant content. The algorithm might think you want to see something, but you want other things to show up.
If it becomes repetitive, you might stop looking at your Explore page. This means you’re missing out on what you like and we don’t want that.
How to reset it:
Step-by-step:
- Open Instagram on Android or iOS.
- Tap your profile icon on the bottom right.
- Open the burger menu icon found on the top right.
- At the bottom, you will see Settings as an option, tap on it.
- Next, tap Security.
- Under Data and History, you will see a Search History option, tap on it.
- You will now see your recent searches and a Clear All button next to it (Clear Search History on iOS). Tap Clear All.
- You will be prompted if you want to clear your search history, hit Clear All.
- Your search history is now cleared and the explore page will be reset.
Note that this cannot be undone. You will eventually see a few accounts that you searched for as suggestions.
Tweak your Explore page manually:
Resetting it all is great, but you might want to filter more content. With this method, as a result, you will be able to select which kind of posts you want to see.
- Open Instagram.
- Tap the magnifying glass search icon in the bottom bar.
- Select a post you don’t want to see.
- Tap the three dots on that post.
- Hit Not Interested. This will remove the post from your Explore page.
- Repeat the process and the algorithm will consequently adapt what kind of content shows up.
How often should I reset my Instagram Explore page?
There is no right amount of time for this.
Sometimes you will reset it and the algorithm will work flawlessly for quite some time. But take me as an example, the algorithm gets really clunky after a month or two.
I do follow a lot of people that create different content and I tend to interact a lot with those, so the algorithm gets lost easily, at least it’s how I feel about it.
If you think everything is working fine, leave it that way. If your case is the same as mine, I recommend resetting it every 60 days.
Other ways you can filter what you see in your feed:
Instagram changed the chronological feed with an algorithm that orders the posts based on your relationships and interests. This means you will see more of the people you interact with, be that posts, DMs, or stories.
Your feed is evolving and adapting based on your user activity and accounts in which you have more engagement overall.
You will still see some content from accounts that don’t fit in this of course, as you need to see content in order to make this happen with new users.
Enable notifications
If you feel like you are seeing too little of an account you enjoy, the best way to tell the algorithm is by enabling notifications.
This will straight up tell it “show me more of this account”. Once that is done, you will notice an increase of posts by that account showing up almost instantly.
Mute accounts you don’t want to see
You might have a few followers that are your friends, or companies you like to check every once in a while. Not everyone makes awesome content, and this is completely fine.
Consider muting accounts you don’t want to unfollow. As a result, you won’t see their content until you undo that. This also tells the algorithm that you are not looking for the kind of content that the account is creating.
Follow hashtags
If you start following a specific hashtag, you will start seeing more of that type of content. Now, if you follow multiple hashtags that apply to the same context, you will see posts that include them as a priority.
This is not a rule of thumb, but it happens often and it’s a great way to filter your feed.
If you are an avid fan of Instagram Reels, you should check out this article with the best hashtags to follow or create.
You probably also want to check this awesome guide on hashtag management.
Final thoughts
Instagram goes a long way to control what we see on the platform. They will try to make sure you are constantly consuming content and sometimes they are not the best at filtering things for us.
With this article, I hope that you are able to take control over things, even if just a bit, and filter exactly what you want to see or not.
If you are looking for a great way to grow your following, we have this awesome article waiting for you.
If you want to grow your account even more, with no hustle, we recommend trying out Nitreo, the #1 Instagram growth service out there, no bots, no sketchy business.
Red is the content creator for this blog, working directly with the Nitreo team, he aims to help clients and Instagram users to optimize their content and metrics. He is also a photographer obsessed with urban photography and portraits, so you can expect a few posts about Instagram photography from time to time as well.
Red has worked as a Portuguese translator and interpreter for over 7 years, he also felt really weird writing this bio in the third person.