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UPDATED 03:31 EST / DECEMBER 28 2017

APPS

Instagram rolls out recommended posts to main feed on iOS and Android

Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram is changing up its news feed slightly with a new feature called “Recommended for You.”

These recommended posts are based on what Instagram thinks users will like according to what the accounts they follow have liked. The recommended posts from accounts that users aren’t already following will appear in a user’s normal Instagram feed.

Instagram confirmed the launch to TechCrunch and explained that the new recommended posts section will appear after a user has viewed all the posts in their feed and will contain between three and five posts, according to the spokesperson.

This isn’t the first time that Instagram has rolled out a recommended feature, but previously users had to go to the Explore section of the app to find recommended posts and videos. With the new “Recommended for You” feature, these posts will appear directly in the normal feed.

This feature, intended to help broaden a user’s reach to more content, comes a couple of weeks after Instagram announced support to follow hashtags, rather than just specific accounts. But unlike the new hashtag support, which is an opt-in feature, the recommended posts is not and will show in all Instagram users’ normal news feed.

The feature can’t be disabled, but it is possible to hide these recommendations temporarily, according to Instagram’s Help documentation. Unfortunately, this would need to be done for each individual “Recommended for You” post that appears in your feed.

To hide the recommended post, tap the three-dot icon (horizontal dots on iOS, vertical dots on Android) above the recommended post > tap Hide.

The “Recommended for You” feature is currently rolling out to all iOS and Android Instagram users.

The change is already causing controversy, with some Instagram users taking to Twitter to vent their anger.   

Image: Instagram

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