Facebook is giving users a more direct way to influence the recommendation systems that decide what appears in Feed and Reels. TechCrunch reports that Meta launched “Your Algorithm” on Facebook on October 13, extending a feature previously introduced on Instagram. Instead of relying only on clicks, watch time and other behavioral signals, users can now describe in their own words what they want to see more or less often.

The feature turns algorithmic preference-setting into a conversation. A user can provide freeform text about topics or types of content, and Meta says the ranking systems will adjust recommendations in real time. The company may also ask follow-up questions about why someone liked or disliked a post, allowing more specific feedback than a single positive or negative button can capture.

Content cards guided by quick feedback and freeform instructions.
The feature combines post-level reactions with broader natural-language guidance for Feed and Reels.

Meta has also revised Facebook’s three-dot menu to make these controls easier to reach from individual posts. From that menu, users can open Your Algorithm or choose “Interested” and “Not interested.” The combination gives people two layers of input: a quick reaction to a specific item and a broader description of the interests they want reflected across Feed and Reels.

The release changes the interface between users and a recommendation system, but it does not replace automated ranking. Meta says it will combine freeform instructions with the information it already uses to understand what a person enjoys. In practice, that means users are adding explicit preferences to a much larger set of signals rather than taking complete control over the order or composition of their feeds.

That distinction is important. Social platforms have long offered tools such as unfollowing, favorites and post-level feedback, but those controls often require repeated actions and provide little visibility into how the system interpreted them. Natural-language guidance could make preference-setting more expressive, although TechCrunch’s report does not establish how strongly a written instruction will outweigh past behavior or how long a change will persist.

Algorithm balancing past behavior with a new written preference.
Meta says explicit instructions will join—not replace—the many existing signals used to rank recommendations.

Facebook’s launch follows Meta’s staged rollout of the same concept on Instagram. TechCrunch says Instagram first introduced Your Algorithm for Reels in December 2025, then expanded customization to Feed and Explore in June. Moving the tool to Facebook extends the approach across another major Meta platform and brings it to a service with a particularly varied mix of friends’ posts, groups, pages, recommendations and video.

Meta describes the feature as part of a broader effort to make recommendations more relevant as AI plays a larger role in content discovery. The immediate test will be whether users can detect meaningful changes after stating a preference. A control that visibly reshapes recommendations could reduce the frustration of repeatedly hiding unwanted content; one that merely nudges the existing system may feel more cosmetic than consequential.

The larger shift is conceptual: Facebook is inviting users to address the ranking system directly rather than infer its rules through engagement. That makes the algorithm feel less like an invisible editor and more like a configurable service. Whether the change delivers genuine agency will depend on how faithfully the system follows instructions, how clearly it explains its responses and whether users can reverse or inspect the preferences they have created.