Instagram algorithms are under renewed scrutiny after Instagram chief Adam Mosseri warned that removing algorithmic ranking could make the platform less useful, not more.

The argument matters beyond Instagram itself. Governments and regulators are asking whether social platforms should give people greater control over how content is recommended. For UK businesses and marketers, any shift away from personalised feeds could change how posts are discovered, how organic reach works and which accounts benefit most.

Why Instagram Algorithms Are Back in the Spotlight

Mosseri’s comments came during a September 2026 briefing with journalists in Australia, where policymakers have been considering measures that would give users more control over algorithmically curated feeds. One proposal would make it easier for users to choose a chronological feed rather than one ranked according to predicted interests. The wider aim is to address concerns about online harm and the influence recommendation systems can have over what people see.

Mosseri’s concern is that chronological feeds create their own problems. When posts are ordered mainly by time, accounts that publish frequently have more opportunities to appear near the top.

For businesses, publishers, and creators with large content teams, that could be an advantage. Smaller businesses and individual creators may struggle to keep pace.

How Instagram Algorithms Decide What People See

Instagram algorithms do not simply choose popular posts and show them to everyone. Instagram uses different ranking systems across Feed, Stories, Reels and other parts of the app. These systems consider signals that help Instagram estimate whether somebody is likely to find a piece of content relevant. Previous interactions, relationships between accounts, information about a post and patterns of user behaviour can all influence ranking.

The result is a personalised feed rather than a universal one. Two people can follow many of the same accounts and still see posts in a different order.

Mosseri has argued that this ranking is useful because most people follow more accounts than they could realistically keep up with. Ranking attempts to surface the posts Instagram believes they are most likely to care about.

What Happens When Algorithmic Ranking Is Removed?

According to Mosseri, engagement can fall significantly when users switch away from ranked feeds. During the Australian briefing, he reportedly said engagement could decline by as much as 50%. That figure should be treated carefully. It represents Meta’s assessment of behaviour on its own platform rather than independent evidence that algorithmic feeds are inherently better for users.

It does, however, explain Instagram’s resistance to abandoning ranking altogether.

A chronological feed solves one concern by removing some algorithmic prioritisation, but it introduces another: volume becomes more important. An account posting several times a day has more opportunities to appear prominently than one publishing twice a week.

Why This Matters for UK Businesses

For UK SMEs, removing Instagram algorithms would not necessarily produce the boost in organic reach some businesses might expect. Consider a local retailer posting three carefully produced pieces of content each week. Under a chronological system, those posts could quickly be pushed down the feed by publishers, influencers and larger brands posting several times each day.

That could encourage businesses to prioritise volume simply to remain visible.

More content is not automatically better content. Increasing publishing frequency without considering audience interest can consume resources without producing meaningful enquiries, sales or engagement. Suggested internal link: Link to a Fixfb.co.uk guide covering Facebook or Instagram organic reach.

Instagram Is Giving Users More Control

The discussion is not limited to choosing between personalised and chronological feeds. Instagram has also been developing tools that allow users to influence their recommendations. Its Your Algorithm controls are designed to show people some of the topics Instagram believes they are interested in and let them adjust those preferences.

Instagram has tested ways of making these controls easier to reach, including options connected more directly to Reels and recommendation experiences.

That approach points towards a possible middle ground: personalised recommendations remain, but users receive more control over what shapes them.

What UK Marketers Should Do Now

There is no need to rebuild your Instagram strategy because of one regulatory debate. There is, however, a useful lesson here: businesses do not control distribution on Meta’s platforms.

Instead of trying to predict every algorithm update, focus on areas you can measure and improve:

Create posts with a clear purpose rather than publishing to fill a calendar.
Monitor reach, saves, shares, comments, and meaningful business outcomes.
Compare performance over several weeks instead of reacting to one weak post.
Avoid assuming a sudden reach decline means your account has been penalised.
Build owned audiences through email, your website and other channels.
Keep paid and organic Meta activity under regular review.

These steps matter regardless of whether Instagram increases personalisation, introduces stronger user controls or gives chronological feeds greater prominence.

A Reach Drop Does Not Automatically Mean a Penalty

Businesses often notice a sudden fall in reach and assume Instagram has restricted the account. Sometimes restrictions do happen. But changing audience behaviour, stronger competition, seasonal patterns, content quality, and platform changes can also affect distribution.

Before changing your entire content strategy, look at the evidence. Check Account Status, compare performance by content format, review recent posting patterns, and identify whether the decline affects all posts or only particular types.

That provides a much stronger basis for deciding what to change.

The Regulatory Argument Is More Complicated Than Engagement

There is also an important distinction between what Meta wants and what regulators may want. Instagram has a commercial interest in keeping its service useful and engaging. Regulators considering algorithmic controls may be more concerned with transparency, safety, user choice, and the potential effects of recommendation systems.

Lower engagement, therefore, does not automatically prove that regulation has failed.

The real question is whether platforms can provide useful personalisation without taking too much control away from the people using them. That debate is unlikely to disappear.

What Comes Next for Instagram Algorithms?

Mosseri’s warning does not mean chronological feeds are disappearing, nor does it mean governments will abandon attempts to regulate recommendation systems. A more likely direction is greater user choice. Platforms can continue using ranking while making it easier for people to understand, adjust, or bypass recommendations when they want to.

For businesses, that means relying on an algorithm “hack” is increasingly risky. Strong creative, useful content, accurate performance analysis, and a direct relationship with your audience are far more durable.

Instagram algorithms are unlikely to disappear simply because regulators are questioning how personalised feeds work. Mosseri argues that removing ranking can create different problems, particularly when high-volume publishers gain an advantage in chronological feeds.

For UK businesses, the practical response is not to post more simply to satisfy the platform. Monitor what your audience responds to, understand why performance changes, and avoid making major decisions based on assumptions about the algorithm.

If your Instagram reach has changed unexpectedly, your account has been restricted, or Meta’s systems are affecting your business.