Social media’s next evolution: user-controlled algorithms
Social media’s next evolution: user-controlled algorithms
社交媒体的下一次进化：用户可控的算法
For years, social media giants controlled what users saw in their feeds. While people could follow accounts, like posts or hide content they didn’t enjoy, recommendation algorithms controlled what was shown to them. Now, social platforms are handing over some of their power by allowing users to personalize their algorithms with the help of AI. 多年来，社交媒体巨头一直掌控着用户在信息流中看到的内容。虽然用户可以关注账号、点赞帖子或隐藏不喜欢的内容，但推荐算法始终决定着展示给他们的内容。如今，社交平台正通过人工智能技术，将部分权力移交给用户，允许他们个性化定制自己的算法。
Beyond traditional “Not Interested” buttons, apps like Threads, Instagram, and TikTok have begun introducing tools that let people train their own algorithms and influence what appears in their feeds. The shift reflects an evolution in how recommendation systems work. Social media feeds are moving away from a one-size-fits-all TV channel and toward something more like a streaming service, where users can tune recommendations to their interests and have more control over what they see. 除了传统的“不感兴趣”按钮外，Threads、Instagram 和 TikTok 等应用已开始引入新工具，让用户能够训练自己的算法，并影响信息流中的内容呈现。这种转变反映了推荐系统运作方式的演进。社交媒体信息流正从“千篇一律的电视频道”模式，转向更类似于“流媒体服务”的模式，用户可以根据自己的兴趣调整推荐内容，从而对所见内容拥有更多掌控权。
For users, the advantage of customizable algorithms is a feed tailored to their interests. For social media giants, it’s a way to boost engagement by displaying content that people are most likely to consume. Here’s a look at how social media platforms are giving users more control over their recommendation algorithms. 对于用户而言，可定制算法的优势在于能获得量身定制的信息流；对于社交媒体巨头来说，这是一种通过展示用户最可能消费的内容来提升参与度的方式。以下是各大社交平台如何赋予用户更多推荐算法控制权的详细介绍。
Threads
Threads
On June 16, 2026, Threads launched a new “Your Algo” feature that builds on the platform’s “Dear Algo” tool, which debuted in February. The “Dear Algo” tool lets users influence their feed by publishing a public post, such as “Dear Algo, show me more posts about podcasts,” to indicate the types of content they want to see more or less of in their feed. 2026 年 6 月 16 日，Threads 推出了全新的“Your Algo”功能，该功能基于今年 2 月首次亮相的“Dear Algo”工具。通过“Dear Algo”工具，用户可以发布公开帖（例如“亲爱的算法，多给我推荐一些关于播客的内容”），以此来表达他们希望在信息流中增加或减少哪类内容。
With the new “Your Algo” feature, users can make those preferences privately, without having to post publicly. Users can tell Threads they want to see more or less of certain topics and choose how long the request lasts: one, three, or seven days. For example, you could ask to see more baseball content and less stressful news. 借助全新的“Your Algo”功能，用户无需公开发帖，即可私下设置这些偏好。用户可以告知 Threads 他们希望增加或减少特定话题的展示，并选择请求的持续时间：一天、三天或七天。例如，你可以要求多看棒球内容，少看令人焦虑的新闻。
In early June, Instagram launched a new tool that lets you see and control your algorithm across your feed. The tool, called “Your Algorithm,” lets you view the topics that shape your recommendations and customize them to better fit your interests. The tool launched for the reels feed in December 2025, but is now available across the feed, explore, and reels. 6 月初，Instagram 推出了一款新工具，让你能够查看并控制整个信息流的算法。该工具名为“Your Algorithm”，让你能够查看影响推荐的话题，并进行自定义以更好地契合你的兴趣。该工具于 2025 年 12 月率先在 Reels 信息流中上线，现已覆盖主信息流、探索页面和 Reels。
Once you access the tool in your settings, you see the topics Instagram thinks you care about the most. You can then tell the app what you’re interested in and what you want to see more or less of, and your recommendations will adapt accordingly. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said that social media ranking models have historically been built with technology that wasn’t transparent to users, but now large language models (LLMs) can make recommendation systems more understandable by showing why content is displayed and letting users explicitly communicate their preferences. 进入设置中的该工具后，你会看到 Instagram 认为你最感兴趣的话题。随后，你可以告知应用你的兴趣点以及希望增加或减少的内容，推荐系统会随之调整。Instagram 负责人 Adam Mosseri 表示，社交媒体的排名模型过去一直采用对用户不透明的技术，但现在大型语言模型（LLMs）可以通过展示内容呈现的原因，并允许用户明确表达偏好，从而使推荐系统变得更加易于理解。
TikTok
TikTok
TikTok features a “Manage Topics” tool that gives you more control over what you see in your “For You” feed. Launched in 2024, you can access the feature in your settings to customize your preferences for different topics, such as sports, travel, humor, current affairs, dance, and food. You can do so by moving the slider to adjust how much you do or don’t want to see that sort of content in your For You feed. TikTok 拥有一项“管理话题”（Manage Topics）工具，让你能更好地控制“为你推荐”（For You）信息流中的内容。该功能于 2024 年推出，你可以在设置中访问它，针对体育、旅行、幽默、时事、舞蹈和美食等不同话题自定义偏好。你可以通过移动滑块，调整在“为你推荐”中希望看到或不希望看到此类内容的程度。
If you are uncertain about which type of videos fall under a category, you can click the “information” button next to a topic. For instance, TikTok says the “Creative arts” topic includes “painting, drawing, graphic design, and art-related tutorials.” In 2025, TikTok expanded its Manage Topics tool by introducing AI-powered Smart Keyword Filters, which automatically limit content containing related keywords, such as synonyms. For example, if you use the Manage Topics tool to filter out “remodeling,” TikTok will also filter out “renovation” and “renovations.” 如果你不确定哪些视频属于某个类别，可以点击话题旁边的“信息”按钮。例如，TikTok 指出“创意艺术”话题包括“绘画、素描、平面设计和艺术相关教程”。2025 年，TikTok 通过引入人工智能驱动的“智能关键词过滤器”扩展了“管理话题”工具，该功能会自动限制包含相关关键词（如同义词）的内容。例如，如果你使用该工具过滤掉“remodeling”（改造），TikTok 也会自动过滤掉“renovation”和“renovations”（翻新）。