INSTAGRAM SEARCH & EXPLORE

Explore on Instagram shows you recommendations such as photos and reels to help you discover new things from accounts you don’t follow. These recommendations may be relevant to your interests or similar to content you previously interacted with.

Posts in Explore are automatically selected based on a variety of factors including:

• Instagram accounts you follow.

• Photos and videos you’ve liked on Instagram.

• Your connection on Instagram.

You can find these posts by clicking on the left. Learn more about what you can do if you see posts you don’t like in Search & Explore.

Visit the Meta Transparency Center for information on how an artificial intelligence (AI) system selects, ranks and delivers the content you see in Instagram Explore.

The posts you see on Instagram when you click on the left to go to Explore may not be the same content others can see.

We’re always working to update the types of posts you see in Explore to better tailor it to you. For example, we may show you reels, photos and videos that people you follow have liked or are liked by a large number of people.

If your account is set to private, only your approved followers will be able to see reels, photos and videos you've shared in Search & Explore.

If you see a post on Instagram that includes a location tag, click the location tag to see other photos that are taken at the same place.

Learn how to add or edit the location of an existing post.

You can view the hashtags, accounts, audio, tags, and places you’ve recently searched for on Instagram by clicking on the left.

See your recent searches for your accounts in an Accounts Center:

1. Click More in the bottom left, then click Settings.

2. Click Accounts Center, then click Your information and permissions.

3. Click on the account for which you'd like to review and manage recent searches.

Note: Not everyone will be able to access this setting in Accounts Center at this time.

If you see a post you’re not interested in on your Feed or in Reels, Explore or Search, you can choose to see fewer posts like it:

If you see something that doesn't follow our Community Guidelines, you can select Report and follow the on-screen steps.

Keep in mind that your report is anonymous, except if you’re reporting an intellectual property infringement. The account you reported won’t see who reported them.

If a blue dot appears next to a search result, it means it's an account that has shared posts you haven't seen yet.

Learn more about discovering posts in Search & Explore.

You can find people you might like to follow on Instagram through Search & Explore.

To locate Search or Explore:

• Search: Click on the left, then click Search in the search bar at the top to type what or who you want to search for.

• Explore: Click on the left to go to Explore. In Explore, scroll to view photos and videos you might like from accounts you’re not already following. Click on a post, then click Follow to follow one of these accounts.

You can also connect your device’s contact list in the Instagram app to find people you know.

Visit the Meta Transparency Center for information on how an artificial intelligence (AI) system selects, ranks and suggests the people you might follow on Instagram.

Learn more about how to search on Instagram.

You can choose whether posts you’re tagged in appear on your profile automatically or manually. When you choose to add photos and videos manually, they’ll appear on your profile only after you approve them. By default, when someone tags a photo or video of you, it will automatically be added to your profile.

To manually select the photos and videos that appear on your profile:

1. Click More in the bottom left, then click Settings.

2. Below How others can interact with you, click Tags and mentions.

3. Click Manually approve tags.

4. Click next to Tag options.

If you choose to add photos and videos to your profile manually, you’ll still be notified when someone tags you in a photo or video. To add that photo or video to your profile, click the photo and then click in the top right. Select Post Options and then select Show on My Profile or Hide on My Profile.

Learn more about how to hide a post you’ve been tagged in from your profile.

You can follow hashtags on Instagram to stay connected with interests you care about.

Follow a hashtag

1. Click any hashtag (example: #flower) you see on Instagram.

2. Click Follow. Once you follow a hashtag, you'll see its photos and videos appear in feed.

To unfollow a hashtag, click the hashtag and then click Following. You may need to click Unfollow to confirm.

Learn more about searching for hashtags and using hashtags on Instagram.