How to Reset Instagram Reels Recommendations

Your Instagram Reels feed feels… off. Suddenly, you’re only getting makeup tutorials when you’re looking for business tips, or it’s nothing but cat videos after your friend showed you one funny clip. Your For You page feels like it’s for someone else. This article will walk you through exactly how to reset and retrain your Reels recommendations, step by step, so your feed starts showing you content you actually want to see.

Why Your Reels Feed Gets Stuck in a Rut

Before fixing the problem, it helps to understand what’s happening behind the screen. The Instagram algorithm is a powerful learning machine, but it’s not a mind reader. It thinks it knows what you like based on a handful of very specific signals:

• Watch Time: How long you watch a Reel. Watching a video all the way through, or better yet, multiple times, is a massive signal that you liked it.
• Direct Engagement: This includes likes, comments, shares, and especially saves. Saving a Reel is one of the strongest indicators that you want to see similar content in the future.
• Profile Interactions: If you watch a Reel and then click on the creator’s profile to see more, Instagram takes note.
• Searches: The topics, accounts, and sounds you look for in the Explore or Search tabs heavily influence what the algorithm shows you.

The system is designed to give you more of what it thinks you enjoy. But sometimes, a brief obsession with sourdough baking or a week of searching for vacation spots can lock your feed into a narrow category you’ve since moved on from. Your feed isn’t broken, it just learned the wrong lesson and needs a little course correction.

Method 1: The Quickest Fix - "Not Interested"

The most direct way to tell Instagram you don't like something is to use the "Not Interested" button. Think of this as giving the algorithm immediate, explicit feedback. When you tell it what you don't like, it gets better at figuring out what you do like.

Engaging with this feature consistently is the first layer of retraining your feed.

How to Mark a Reel as "Not Interested":

1. While watching a Reel you're not into, tap the three dots (&hellip,) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. A menu will pop up from the bottom. Tap "Not Interested."
3. The Reel will immediately disappear, and you'll see a confirmation message from Instagram saying the video has been hidden. It will also say, "We'll show fewer posts like this from now on."
4. For even stronger feedback, you can tap "See Why" and then select a specific reason, such as "See fewer posts from accounts you don’t follow."

Don't be shy about using this feature. Every time you mark a Reel as "Not Interested," you're pruning your recommendation tree and making space for new content to grow.

Method 2: Wiping the Slate Clean - Your Activity and Search History

Your past interactions are the data the algorithm uses to predict your future interests. To truly reset your feed, you need to revisit some of that history. This involves clearing your searches and, for a more thorough cleanse, reviewing your past likes and saves through Instagram's "Your activity" hub.

Clearing Your Search History

Your search history is a powerful signal. If you spent three days searching for "crochet patterns," the algorithm assumes crochet is your new long-term hobby. Clearing your history tells the algorithm to disregard those past searches when recommending new content.

Steps to Clear Your Search History:

1. Go to your Instagram profile page and tap the three horizontal lines (☰) in the top right corner.
2. Tap on "Your activity."
3. Scroll down and select "Recent searches."
4. In the top right, you'll see an option to "Clear all." Tap this and confirm.

This removes the historical data from your searches, preventing old, irrelevant interests from continuing to influence your Reels feed.

Reviewing Your Past Engagement ("Interactions")

This is the most time-consuming but arguably the most effective method for a deep reset. Within the "Your activity" hub, you can see every post you’ve ever liked, commented on, or saved. Going back and "un-liking" or "un-saving" content that no longer fits your interests is a powerful way to rewrite your data profile.

Steps to Manage Your Past Interactions:

1. Navigate back to the "Your activity" menu.
2. Under the "Interactions" subheading, you’ll see menu items for "Likes," "Comments," and "Saves" (which is further down under "How you use Instagram").
3. Tap on "Likes." You’ll see a grid of all the posts you’ve ever liked.
4. You can sort this by "Newest to oldest" or filter it by author or date range. This helps you quickly find batches of content from an old interest.
5. Long-press on one image to enable selection mode, then tap multiple posts to select a group. Tap "Unlike" at the bottom to bulk-remove your likes from that old content.
6. Repeat this process for your "Saves." Saved content sends an even stronger signal to the algorithm than likes, so cleansing your saved collection of outdated interests is a huge step.

You don’t have to go through your entire history. Focus on the most recent months or on specific periods where you know you were exploring a topic you’re now tired of seeing.

Method 3: Proactively Training Your New Feed

Resetting is only half the battle. Once you've scrubbed the old data, you need to actively feed the algorithm new, positive signals about what you want to see. This is where you become the teacher, showing Instagram exactly what type of content you value.

Here’s how to do it effectively:

• Search with Intent: Use the search bar to look for keywords, hashtags, and accounts related to your new interests. For example, if you want to see more about graphic design, search for #graphicdesign, #designtips, or influencers in that space.
• Engage Generously (with the Right Content): When a Reel appears that perfectly matches your interests, give the algorithm every signal you can.
  • Watch it completely. Even better, watch it twice.
  • Give it a like.
  • Leave a relevant comment.
  • Share it with a friend.
  • And most importantly, save it. Hitting that bookmark icon is a top-tier signal telling Instagram, "More of THIS, please!"
• Follow Relevant Creators: Following new accounts in your desired niche sends a clear message. When you follow an account, Instagram assumes you want to see content similar to what that account produces and what its followers enjoy.
• Mute or Unfollow Unwanted Accounts: If your feed is still showing content from accounts you're not interested in, don't be afraid to mute their posts and stories or unfollow them altogether. This is another form of "Not Interested" feedback that helps refine your recommendations.

Myths vs. Reality: What Doesn’t Work

There are a few common misconceptions about resetting your algorithmic feed. Let’s clear them up.

• Myth: There is a secret "reset" button.
• Reality: Unfortunately, no magical button exists. Resetting your Reels feed is a process of curation and training over time, not a single action.
• Myth: Blocking a few accounts will fix everything.
• Reality: Blocking stops you from seeing content from a specific account, but it doesn't teach the algorithm to stop showing you similar types of content from other creators. Use "Not Interested" for broad topic changes.
• Myth: Reinstalling the app will give you a fresh start.
• Reality: Your user data and interaction history are tied to your account on Instagram’s servers, not your phone. Reinstalling the app will do nothing to change your recommendations.

Final Thoughts

Retraining your Instagram Reels feed is an active process of cleaning up your past interactions and thoughtfully engaging with the content you want to see moving forward. By consistently telling the algorithm what you don’t like with the "Not Interested" feature and what you love through likes, saves, and watch time, you can sculpt a feed that inspires, entertains, and educates you every time you open the app.

A well-curated feed isn't just for personal browsing, it's a vital tool for understanding trends and finding inspiration for your own social media strategy. Seeing what works for others sparks ideas for your content, but turning those ideas into a consistent posting schedule across Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts can be overwhelming. Here at Postbase, we built our platform specifically for today's video-first reality. Our visual calendar helps you plan your video strategy at a glance, and with our reliable scheduling, you can turn that brilliant Reel idea into content that publishes seamlessly across all your platforms, exactly when you planned.