Instagram’s “Suggested For You” feature can be annoying when it recommends accounts to follow that you have no interest in. Fortunately, there are several ways to remove these unwanted suggestions from your feed.
Table of Contents
Why You Get Annoying Suggestions
Instagram’s algorithm tries to determine accounts you may want to follow based on factors like:
- Who you already follow
- Posts and accounts you interact with
- Your contacts and profile information
- Sponsored posts
While this can help surface new accounts relevant to your interests, it can also result in suggestions that don’t align with what you want to see.
Clear Your Search History
One way Instagram determines suggestions is by looking at your search history. If you’ve searched for accounts in the past that you don’t want to follow, clearing your history can help remove them from suggestions.
To clear your search history:
- Go to your profile
- Tap the three lines in the top right corner
- Select Settings
- Tap Security > Clear Search History
Clearing your search history removes that data from being used to populate your suggestions.
Disable “Suggested For You” Notifications
Another way to cut down on annoying suggestions is to turn off notifications for new follow recommendations.
To disable notifications:
- Go to your profile
- Tap the three lines in the top right corner
- Select Settings
- Tap Notifications
- Turn off Suggested For You notifications
This stops you from getting notified every time Instagram tries to suggest a new account. The suggestions may still show up in your feed, but at least you won’t be notified about each one.
Hide Suggestions From Your Feed
You can also hide suggestions directly from your feed so they no longer show up at all.
When you see a suggested post, tap the three dots above it and select Hide. This removes that specific suggestion.
You can also snooze all suggestions for 30 days to take a break from seeing posts from accounts you don’t follow.
Block or Unfollow Recommended Accounts
As you come across suggestions you definitely aren’t interested in, you can block those accounts so Instagram knows not to recommend them again.
To block an account:
- Go to their profile
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner
- Select Block
Not interested in blocking but also don’t want to see an account? Unfollow them. While Instagram may suggest them again later, it at least removes them for the time being.
Make Your Account Private
If all else fails, making your Instagram account private can drastically limit suggestions since your profile and posts are no longer publicly accessible.
To make your profile private:
- Go to your profile
- Tap Settings
- Scroll down to Private Account
- Toggle it on
This requires you to approve each new follower, limiting the number of people who can view your posts and further personalize the content Instagram tries to recommend.
The Takeaway
Getting irrelevant follow suggestions can be annoying. Fortunately, Instagram gives you tools to tailor the accounts that are recommended to you.
Try clearing your search history, disabling notifications, blocking accounts, making your profile private, and snoozing suggestions from your feed.
While Instagram’s algorithm tries to determine your interests, leveraging these options helps ensure only accounts relevant to you are suggested.
