Facebook lets you tell the algorithm in your own words what you want to see: Meta offers control, but the ranking stays its own

Meta has rolled out on Facebook the "Your Algorithm" feature it previously introduced on Instagram. The idea is simple: instead of the algorithm guessing on its own what interests you, you write to it in your own words what you want to see more and less of, and that shapes the content in Feed and Reels.

The three-dot menu on every post has been rearranged. From there you now go straight to "Your Algorithm", or to the "Interested" and "Not interested" options for a specific post. According to Meta, the platform may also ask you additional questions about what you liked and what you didn't, and changes to the recommendations show up immediately.

Facebook isn't first. Instagram introduced "Your Algorithm" in June, after launching it only for Reels in December 2025, and Threads has its own version, called "Dear Algo". Meta presents it as a step towards the kind of personalisation streaming platforms offer, where viewers say for themselves what they want.

It sounds like control. But it's worth looking at what is actually happening. The feature's screen says your interests are "summarised by AI" based on your recent activity. The algorithm first tells you who you are, then asks whether you agree. And every sentence you write about what interests you is one more precise piece of data Facebook uses to fine-tune its recommendations.

The ranking of posts is still done by Meta, by its own rules. Is that control, or just a more polite way for the algorithm to ask what you want before deciding on its own anyway?