What the Instagram Algorithm Really Ranks, in Instagram's Own Words

There is no single Instagram algorithm. Instagram says Feed, Stories, Explore, Reels and Search each rank content differently.

• In Reels, Instagram predicts whether you will reshare, watch to the end, like, and open the audio page.
• Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, has named three numbers to watch: watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach.
• Sends (shares in DMs) matter slightly more for reaching people who do not follow you yet.
• Watermarked, blurry, muted or reposted Reels can get less distribution.
• Since December 2025 a post can carry at most 5 hashtags, and hashtags help search more than reach.

Share this: the next time someone in your group swears "the algorithm hates me", send them Instagram's own words.

In his post Instagram Ranking Explained (May 2023), Mosseri wrote that Instagram does not have a singular algorithm that decides what people see. It uses a variety of algorithms, classifiers and processes, each with its own purpose, and each part of the app ranks content in its own way.

That matters because a post can do well in one place and poorly in another. A carousel your followers love in Feed might never reach Explore, and a Reel that strangers share widely might barely register with your existing followers. Judge each format on its own surface.

For every surface, Instagram estimates how likely you are to take certain actions. Per the official explainer, the most important ones are:

The signals behind those predictions include your activity (what you have liked, shared and saved), information about the post (how popular it is, how quickly people are engaging, what it is about), information about the poster, and your history with that account. Instagram says there are thousands of signals in total.

In January 2025 Mosseri started a video series on ranking and named three metrics as the most important to look at in your Insights (Social Media Today):

1. Watch time: how long people actually watch.
2. Likes per reach: what share of viewers liked it.
3. Sends per reach: what share of viewers sent it to someone in a DM.

He added a detail most creators miss: likes are slightly more important for content shown to your followers, and sends are slightly more important for content shown to people who do not follow you.

The practical takeaway: a Reel people want to send to a friend ("this is so you", "we need to try this", "did you know this?") is built for discovery. That is also why posts like this one are written to be shared.

Instagram's explainer lists things that make a Reel less likely to be recommended. Reels may get less distribution if they are:

• low resolution
• watermarked, for example with another app's logo
• muted or with borders around the video
• mostly text
• already posted on Instagram (straight reposts of someone else's content)

Separately, Instagram's Recommendation Guidelines keep some content out of Explore, Reels, Search and suggestions even when it is allowed on the platform, such as content about tobacco, vaping or certain regulated products. Accounts that repeatedly break these guidelines can have none of their posts recommended for a period.

You can check this yourself: Settings, then Account Status, shows whether your account currently has issues that affect recommendations.

In December 2025 Instagram moved to a limit of five hashtags per post and Reel (Social Media Today). Instagram's @creators account said fewer, more targeted hashtags can work better than generic ones, and Mosseri has said hashtags help people find content in search but do not increase reach on their own.

So skip #love #instagood #viral. Use a few specific tags that describe the post, the way someone would actually search for it.

"Instagram hides my posts so I will buy ads." The explainer says plainly that Instagram does not suppress content to encourage people to buy ads.

"I am shadowbanned." Instagram says there is no single agreed meaning of the term and that hiding people's content is not the intention of ranking. What does exist is the recommendation eligibility described above, which you can check and appeal through Account Status.

None of this guarantees any particular result. It tells you what Instagram measures, so you can make content worth watching, liking and sending.

What is the most important signal for Reels? Instagram lists resharing, watching to the end, liking and visiting the audio page. Mosseri has highlighted watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach.

Do shares really matter more than likes? For people who do not follow you yet, Mosseri said sends are slightly more important. For your followers, likes are slightly more important.

How many hashtags should I use? At most five, which is now the limit. Choose specific ones; hashtags help search more than reach.

Will reposting a TikTok video hurt it? Instagram says watermarked content and content already posted on Instagram can get less distribution. Upload a clean, original file.

How do I know if my account is restricted? Open Settings and Account Status. It shows removed content and whether your account can currently be recommended.

Once your content is ready, some creators also give a new Reel an early push. Compare the current Instagram Reel views options and their terms.