Threads, Instagram and TikTok add user-controlled algorithms

Threads launched its "Your Algo" feature on July 16, 2026, letting users set private preferences for their feed that last one, three, or seven days. The new option builds on Threads' earlier "Dear Algo" tool, which debuted in February, and lets people ask to see more or less of specific topics without posting publicly.

How do social apps let users control their feeds?

Threads, Instagram and TikTok each expose topic-level controls but in different forms: Threads offers private, time-limited requests; Instagram surfaces the topics that shape recommendations across feed, explore and reels; TikTok uses sliders and, since 2025, AI-powered keyword filters. Threads' Your Algo accepts private instructions like "see more baseball" or "less stressful news" and lets users choose a duration of one, three, or seven days. Instagram's Your Algorithm shows the topics it thinks matter to you and lets you add or remove interests; that tool first launched for reels in December 2025 and is now available across feed, explore and reels. TikTok's Manage Topics, launched in 2024, uses sliders to increase or decrease topic exposure and added AI-powered Smart Keyword Filters in 2025 to automatically limit related keywords and synonyms.

What specific features do each platform offer?

Threads' private Your Algo copies the idea behind Dear Algo but moves the input out of public posts into settings, so preferences are not broadcast. Instagram's Your Algorithm surfaces the topics behind recommendations so people can directly edit them; Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said ranking models "wasn't transparent to users" and that large language models can make recommendation systems more understandable by showing why content is displayed and letting users explicitly communicate their preferences. TikTok's Manage Topics includes an information button next to topics so users can see what a category covers, and its Smart Keyword Filters will, for example, filter "renovation" when a user filters out "remodeling."

Why does this shift matter?

Giving users direct controls moves feeds away from a one-size-fits-all model toward tuned, user-driven recommendations, which platforms say can increase engagement by showing content people are most likely to consume. For users, the change promises more tailored feeds and the option to reduce content they find stressful or irrelevant. For platform operators, the controls offer a way to retain attention while responding to demands for more transparency and user agency in recommendation systems.

What to watch

Look for whether these controls measurably change what people spend time on and whether platforms expand private tuning beyond topic sliders into richer, model-driven explanations of ranking. Also watch whether other apps copy the mix of private requests, surfaced topics and AI keyword filtering that Threads, Instagram and TikTok now offer.