Glossary / Instagram

Internet speak

Instagram algorithm

The Instagram algorithm is the set of ranking systems that decide which posts, reels and stories each person sees, and in what order.

Also called: the algorithm, IG algorithm

By Aulto · Last reviewed

Is there one algorithm?

No. Instagram has said it uses different systems for Feed, Stories, Reels and Explore, each with its own signals.

What does it look at?

Broadly: what you do on Instagram, information about the post, who posted it, and your history with that account. For reaching people who don't follow you, Instagram has pointed to shares by DM as an especially strong signal.

What can you do about it?

Make things people want to watch to the end, save and send to a friend. Tricks age fast; those habits don't.

Example

A reel that people send to friends keeps getting shown to new accounts days after posting.

  • Algo

    "Algo" is short for algorithm, the ranking system that decides what a social app shows people, as in "the algo pushed my reel".

  • Sends

    Sends are the times people shared your post or reel with someone else by DM, one of the strongest signs that content is worth showing to more people.

  • Reach

    Reach is the number of different accounts that saw your content at least once.

  • Shadowban

    "Shadowban" is the popular name for content quietly being shown to fewer people; Instagram doesn't use the word, but it does limit recommendations for some content.

  • Auto-reply

    An auto-reply is a message sent automatically in response to a DM, comment or keyword, so people get an answer without waiting for someone to type it.

  • Carousel post

    A carousel post is an Instagram post with several photos or videos that people swipe through, up to 20 in one post.

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