Instagram just gave users algorithm control — and this could change the face of social media

Some describe social media algorithms as black boxes, dark spaces that have substantial control over what you see but offer virtually zero insight into how they do their dark magic. Instagram is changing that equation today by opening up just a little bit of the inscrutable programming and letting users – with AI's help – take the wheel.

Instagram announced the "new way to control your Instagram experience" in a blog post on Wednesday (December 10), explaining that the change will allow users to both see and control their Reels algorithm.

Reels is the longer-form video content and most closely resembles TikTok, another social media platform with a powerful and inscrutable algorithm.