Facebook is giving users a more direct way to tell its recommendation algorithm what belongs in their feed—and what can take the next bus out of town. The new “Your Algorithm” feature lets people add and manage topics they want to see in Facebook’s main feed and Reels.
Meta says recommendations will “respond right away” when users update their preferences. You’ll be able to open Your Algorithm or tap “interested” and “not interested” from the three-dot menu on an individual post. Those buttons may also appear beneath posts. Meta says it may ask follow-up questions about what you liked or disliked, and let you explain in your own words what you want more or less of.
That last part is where the AI comes in. Meta says it is using large language models, or LLMs, in its ranking systems. In plain English, the company says its systems can interpret natural-language requests—including the interests and context behind them—rather than relying only on clicks and other signals. Tell Facebook what you’d like to see, Meta says, and recommendations can adapt in real time, even during the same session.
That is the pitch. The practical promise is a little more control over a feed that has long been shaped by a mix of your activity and Meta’s own ranking choices. If a particular topic has taken over your recommendations, an explicit “not interested” option may be more useful than quietly scrolling past another dozen posts and hoping the algorithm gets the hint.
There are still obvious questions. Meta has not specified in the supplied announcement when the feature will reach users, or how much influence these controls will have over the broader feed. “Respond right away” describes the company’s claim about updates; it doesn’t tell us how reliably a request will change what appears, or how long that change will stick. Users also shouldn’t assume that steering recommendations means they are choosing everything the feed can show.
Your Algorithm previously launched on Instagram earlier this year, and Threads has a similar “Dear Algo” feature. Facebook is now bringing that general idea to a much larger collection of feeds and recommendations. The ability to express preferences in ordinary language could make those systems easier to steer than a maze of buried settings—assuming the controls are easy to find and the results are useful.
For now, this is a promised set of controls, not proof that Facebook’s feed is suddenly user-directed. When it arrives, look for Your Algorithm or the interest buttons on posts, and try specific feedback about topics you want more or less of. Then see whether the feed listens. Algorithms have spent years watching us; letting us talk back is overdue.
Sources: Glitch Please! and The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/tech/1010344/meta-facebook-your-algorithm-ai — Reporting by Stevie Bonifield
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