Instagram is testing a new feature for the feed with “Recommended Posts”. This feature showcases recommended content in your feed alongside your own content. It will appear spotlighted under a “recommended for you” tag, and you’ll be able to quickly follow the users if you like their content.
I’ve used this feature for a while, and it’s not as awful as you’d expect. The content is — as Instagram says — stuff you would like normally. While some may not like being predicted by an algorithm, and people who jealously curate their feeds might be miffed. Instagram needs to offer an option to turn it off, but with the movement of social media towards recommendation over curation, we doubt that’s going to happen.
“Our goal is to make Feed the best place to share and connect with the people and interests that matter most to you. Now with recommended posts, you can see even more of what’s being shared by our community.” Instagram explained in a blog post, “This test will be rolling out over the next few days. We’ll be making product revisions based on your feedback and hope to bring this to more people in the coming weeks.”