Four rankings in one app
The Instagram algorithm in 2026 is not one thing. Instagram ranks Feed, Stories, Reels and Explore each in its own way, and in Reels and Explore people mostly see accounts they do not follow. Since November 2024 users can reset their recommendations in a few taps, and since December 2025 people in English-speaking countries pick their own topics under Your Algorithm.
For a brand that means reach depends less on your follower count and more on whether a post holds people who do not know you yet. That is good news for a company entering a new European market with few followers. Below: how each part ranks, what changed, how the reset works, and what to post as a small business, an online store, an agency or a brand from abroad.
How each part of the app ranks
Instagram has explained that each part of the app ranks differently, because people use each part differently, and Meta publishes system cards for each. In short:
| Part | What you see there | What counts most |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Posts from accounts you follow, plus recommendations | Your past interaction with the account: likes, comments, saves |
| Stories | Stories from accounts you follow | How often you view and reply to those stories |
| Reels | Mostly videos from accounts you do not follow | Whether you keep watching, share, save, open the audio |
| Explore | Posts and reels from accounts you do not follow | What you viewed and saved before, what similar people view |
If you want posts in time order, choose Following or Favorites at the top of your Feed. And on any post, Why am I seeing this explains why it is there. Which hour suits your own posts best, per platform, is in the best time to post on social media.
What changed in 2026
The biggest shift is that users steer more themselves. Since December 2025, people in English-speaking countries can see under Your Algorithm which topics Instagram uses for their Reels and Explore, and add or remove topics; in May 2026 Meta said Feed would follow. Viewers choosing topics deliberately favours accounts that are recognisable for a few topics. The same shift happened on LinkedIn; see the LinkedIn algorithm in 2026. Which size to make your posts and reels is in social media image sizes.
The three signals Instagram names itself
In January 2025 Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, named the signals that weigh most: watch time, likes and sends, meaning how often someone forwards your post in a direct message. He told creators to look past the totals in their insights and at the share instead: likes per reach and sends per reach. Likes weigh slightly more with your followers, sends with people who do not follow you.
| Signal | What it measures | How you earn it |
|---|---|---|
| Watch time | How long people keep watching | A strong first second, no intro, tight editing |
| Likes per reach | How many of those who saw the post liked it | A clear topic that fits your audience |
| Sends per reach | How many of those who saw the post forwarded it | Something people want to show a colleague or friend: a tip, a price, a before and after |
Originality counts too. When Instagram finds two identical posts, it recommends only the original, and since the end of April 2026 that applies to photos and carousels as well: an account that mostly reposts other people's content is no longer shown to people who do not follow it. For a business that is good news: if you film your own work, your content is original by definition.
Followers against new viewers
- Who sees your post
- Feed and StoriesMostly your followers
- Reels and ExploreMostly people who do not follow you
- What weighs most
- Feed and StoriesHow often someone engaged with your account before
- Reels and ExploreWhether someone keeps watching, shares, saves or opens the audio
- What you use it for
- Feed and StoriesKeeping customers informed
- Reels and ExploreReaching new customers
- What works
- Feed and StoriesNews, offers, behind the scenes
- Reels and ExploreA short explainer, a before and after, an answer to a question
A business account needs both: Feed and Stories to keep customers, Reels to grow.
Profile
Tap your profile picture
More options
The three lines top right
Content preferences
In the settings menu
Reset suggested content
Clears what Explore, Reels and Feed learned about you
Choose accounts
Unfollow what you no longer want to see, or skip
After the reset Instagram learns again from what you watch. Your followers, posts and messages stay.
How to reset the Instagram algorithm
Want to start over, because Explore is full of topics you no longer care about or because a once-private account now serves your business? Go to your profile, tap More options, choose Content preferences and then Reset suggested content. Instagram then lists the accounts you follow so you can unfollow some straight away. After that the algorithm learns again from what you watch.
Prefer to adjust rather than wipe? Tap Interested or Not interested on a post or reel, or add words to Hidden Words to filter topics out. Switching the algorithm off entirely is not possible, but Following shows only accounts you follow, in time order.
A reset does not touch your account
A reset only clears what Instagram learned about what you like to see. Your followers, posts, messages and ad settings stay. For a business account nothing changes in your reach; you only see a different Explore page yourself.
What it means for your business
| Reader | What counts | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Brand from abroad entering Belgium or Europe | The viewer's language and context | Subtitles in Dutch and French for Belgium, local examples, Reels to reach people who have never heard of you |
| Small business or service company | Recognisable topics, a real face | Short explainers on client questions, the founder on camera |
| Online store | Reels that show a product in use | Product reels that get saved and shared; ads on the reels that already work |
| Agency | Testing on non-followers | Trial reels for clients, reporting on reach beyond followers |
A brand entering Belgium should know the country has two main consumer languages. A reel with Dutch subtitles reaches Flanders, one with French subtitles reaches Wallonia and much of Brussels; English alone reaches a smaller share of both.
What works for a business account
A reel wins when people keep watching and share or save it. A strong first second, a clear topic and something worth remembering do that: a tip, a price, a before and after. Test new formats with trial reels: Instagram shows them to non-followers first, you see results after about a day, and you can send them to followers automatically if they perform in the first 72 hours.
Your own footage makes the difference. Video of your team, workshop or product in use holds viewers longer than a stock clip. One shoot day gives material for months; see corporate photoshoot ideas. You can edit in Edits, Instagram's video app, which by its first birthday in April 2026 had a teleprompter, ideas and insights.
Plan your reels in a social media plan template and put fixed dates in a content calendar template. What outsourcing costs is in social media management pricing.
What Instagram changed since late 2024
- 19 November 2024Recommendations resetA button to start over in Explore, Reels and Feed.
- 10 December 2024Trial reelsTest reels on people who do not follow you first.
- December 2025Your AlgorithmChoose your own topics for Reels and Explore, English-speaking countries first.
- 22 April 2026Edits turns oneInstagram's video app with a teleprompter, ideas and insights.
- 13 May 2026InstantsPhotos that disappear, for close friends.
Paid reach next to organic reach
Organic reach grows slowly. A reel that already performs can be pushed further as an ad to an audience you choose, country by country. From late March 2026 Meta counts only a link click as a click; read Meta's click attribution change before comparing figures. Work out what a budget must return with the ROAS calculator, and what ads cost in how much do Facebook ads cost in Europe. If you use AI-generated people or voices for an EU audience, check AI-generated content labelling.
Five mistakes that cost a business account reach
- Posting about everythingA product today, a job ad tomorrow and a meme the day after: recognisable for nothing.
- A slow first secondA logo or a three-second intro makes viewers scroll on before you have said anything.
- No subtitlesMany people watch without sound. Without text on screen, your reel loses its message.
- Only announcing"New in our range" rarely gets shared. A tip people want to keep does.
- Buying followersBought followers do not watch, and they teach the algorithm that your posts bore people.
Instagram in your 2027 plan
For most consumer brands Instagram is the main channel; for B2B it usually comes second to LinkedIn. The wider picture is in social media trends 2027, the fixed dates in the marketing calendar 2027.
How VBS makes your reels
From Ghent, Belgium, we run social media management with our own footage: we film, edit and plan your reels and posts, and report on reach, traffic and enquiries. We make corporate video you can cut into reels. For Les Terrasses de Durbuy, a holiday villa in the Belgian Ardennes, we made a launch reel, a golf reel and carousels. Book a call.