Social media users are gaining unprecedented control over what appears in their feeds, as platforms like Threads, Instagram, and TikTok introduce advanced tools for algorithm customisation. This marks a significant shift from the traditional model where powerful recommendation systems largely dictated content consumption, moving towards a more interactive and user-centric experience. For years, while users could follow accounts or express dislike for certain posts, the underlying algorithms remained opaque, shaping feeds based on complex proprietary logic.
This evolution is transforming social media from a passive, broadcast-like experience into something akin to a personalised streaming service. The aim is to allow individuals to fine-tune their content recommendations to better align with their evolving interests. For instance, Threads, building on its 'Dear Algo' tool, launched 'Your Algo' in June 2026, enabling private requests to see more or less of certain topics for specific durations, such as reducing 'stressful news' or increasing 'podcast' content. This provides a direct channel for users to communicate their desired feed composition without public posts.
Similarly, Instagram introduced its 'Your Algorithm' tool in early June, expanding on a December 2025 rollout for Reels. This feature allows users to view the topics that influence their recommendations across their main feed, Explore page, and Reels. Users can then actively adjust these preferences, telling the app what content they wish to see more or less of. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, has indicated that advancements in large language models (LLMs) are making these recommendation systems more transparent and responsive to explicit user input, moving away from historically opaque ranking models.
TikTok has also been at the forefront of this trend with its 'Manage Topics' tool, available since 2024. This feature gives users granular control over their 'For You' feed by allowing them to adjust sliders for various categories, such as sports, travel, or current affairs, to indicate how much of that content they wish to see. Further enhancing this, TikTok introduced AI-powered Smart Keyword Filters in 2025, which automatically broaden content restrictions to include synonyms. For example, filtering 'remodeling' would also exclude 'renovation' content, demonstrating a sophisticated approach to user-driven content curation.
From a UK perspective, this shift could have several implications. For consumers, it promises a more tailored and potentially less overwhelming online experience, reducing exposure to unwanted or distressing content. For businesses and content creators, understanding how users are customising their algorithms will become crucial for effective audience engagement and content strategy. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the broader regulatory landscape, including the EU AI Act, will likely keep a close watch on how these AI-driven customisation features are implemented, particularly concerning data privacy, user autonomy, and potential for algorithmic bias, even in user-controlled systems.