Social media algorithm control now comes in two forms: Meta lets Facebook users describe the feed they want in plain words, and Australia wants to let users switch the recommendation system off entirely.
On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Meta announced Your Algorithm for Facebook, an AI-powered feature that lets users shape what they see in Feed and Reels by describing their preferences in their own words. Two days later, Australia introduced a bill that would let users aged 16 and above opt out of algorithmic recommendations altogether. Social media algorithm control is suddenly the question of the month, and the two answers on the table could not be more different.
Meta’s version keeps the recommendation system running and asks users to steer it. Australia’s version would let users turn it off. Here is what you can change today, what the law would change next, and where the gaps still sit.
The Short Version
- Meta’s Your Algorithm, the newest piece of social media algorithm control on Facebook, arrived on October 13, 2026, rolling out globally. Users describe what they want to see in plain language, and changes show up in real time.
- Instagram got the same tool for Reels in December 2025, then for Feed and Explore in June 2026. Threads added Dear Algo in February 2026.
- Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 was introduced on October 15, 2026, offering users aged 16 and above a choice between algorithmic recommendations and a chronological feed of followed accounts.
- The bill is proposed law, not law. It must pass the Senate, and public consultation runs until November 5, 2026.
- Meta has not disclosed how much weight a user’s stated preferences carry against behavioural data such as watch time and clicks.
What Facebook’s Your Algorithm Actually Does
Your Algorithm is a natural-language layer on top of Facebook’s existing ranking system. Instead of only tapping like or hiding posts, users can write what they want more or less of. Meta says the platform may ask follow-up questions to pin down what a user liked or disliked, and changes are reflected in real time. Instagram VP of Product Tessa Lyons told CNN that AI language models can now understand written feedback well enough to act on it. That is the practical side of social media algorithm control on Facebook today.
Using this piece of social media algorithm control takes five short steps:
- Open Facebook and tap the three-dot menu on any post in Feed or Reels.
- Choose Your Algorithm to open the preference panel.
- Describe what you want in your own words, for example more posts about local football or fewer viral prank videos.
- Use Interested and Not interested on individual posts to sharpen the signal, and answer any follow-up questions the app asks.
- Repeat as your interests change. The tool works in real time, so new preferences take effect without waiting for a settings refresh.
Instagram introduced Your Algorithm for Reels on December 10, 2025, expanded it to English-speaking users in January 2026, and brought it to Feed and Explore in June 2026. Threads added Dear Algo in February 2026. Facebook is the latest platform to get the controls.
Two Ideas of Social Media Algorithm Control
The collision is the story of social media algorithm control in October 2026. Meta’s tool refines the algorithm. It gives the recommendation system more data about what a user wants, then the system keeps ranking posts. Australia’s bill asks for removal. Under the My Feed, My Way initiative, Australians aged 16 and above would choose between algorithmically recommended content and posts from accounts they follow, shown in chronological order. Platforms would have to tell users about their default feed options and let them opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Storyboard18 reported the bill’s introduction and its opt-out plan.
The difference is not cosmetic. A tuned algorithm still decides what you see first. A chronological feed removes that decision entirely. Meta has not disclosed how much weight stated preferences carry against behavioural data, so users cannot yet measure how far a written preference moves the feed. That gap is the honest limit of today’s social media algorithm control tools.
Australia’s move sits inside a wider social media algorithm control package. The draft Digital Duty of Care laws were released for consultation on September 8, 2026. Communications Minister Anika Wells introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The legislation follows Australia’s restrictions on social media access for children under 16, and would extend online safety requirements to gaming services, apps and AI chatbots while expanding the eSafety Commissioner’s powers.
How Social Media Algorithm Control Works on Other Apps
Facebook is not the only app handing users social media algorithm control. TikTok’s Manage Topics lets users slide how often more than 10 topics such as Travel or Sports are recommended. Topics are reduced, not removed, and the feature has been global since June 2025. TikTok also offers Smart Keyword Filters, which block videos containing a keyword plus AI-found synonyms, and an AI-generated content slider that has been in testing since November 2025.
YouTube announced prompt-built Custom Feeds on September 23, 2026. Pinterest’s GenAI tuner lets users see fewer AI-generated Pins in categories such as beauty, art, fashion and home decor, rolling out since October 2025. The pattern shows social media algorithm control spreading as a set of dials, not off switches.
What Social Media Algorithm Control Still Cannot Do
No single tool yet delivers full social media algorithm control. TikTok reduces topics rather than removing them. Meta’s tool refines ranking rather than replacing it. Pinterest’s tuner trims one category of content. And the weight of a written preference against years of behavioural data remains undisclosed by Meta, so the strongest signal may still be what you watch, not what you write.
The Australian proposal is the only item on the table that would hand users a genuine off switch, and it is not law yet. Until the Senate votes, Australian users have the same platform tools as everyone else.
Confirmed, Reported and Unknown
Confirmed: Meta announced Your Algorithm for Facebook on October 13, 2026, with a global rollout under way. Instagram and Threads already run related tools. Australia introduced the Digital Duty of Care bill on October 15, 2026, and consultation closes November 5, 2026.
Reported: CNN reported Instagram VP of Product Tessa Lyons saying AI language models can now understand written feedback well enough to act on it. TechCrunch reported Meta’s Facebook launch on the day it was announced.
Unknown: how much weight Meta gives stated preferences versus behavioural data when it runs social media algorithm control. Whether the Australian bill passes the Senate. When, or whether, other platforms add a full opt-out of their own.
What Happens Next
Public consultation on the Australian bill closes November 5, 2026. The Senate vote follows, with no date set in the material reviewed. Meta’s global rollout continues, and the company may publish more detail on how preferences are weighted if regulators or users press for it. The next chapter of social media algorithm control depends on two things: whether a written preference can beat a watched video, and whether a parliament can force the choice.
Quick Answers
What is social media algorithm control? It covers the tools and rules that let users shape what a recommendation system shows them, from Meta’s Your Algorithm to Australia’s proposed opt-out.
How do I use Your Algorithm on Facebook? Tap the three-dot menu on a post, open Your Algorithm, describe what you want in your own words, and use Interested or Not interested to refine it.
Does Your Algorithm turn off Facebook recommendations? No. It refines the ranking system. The feed still uses recommendations, and the tool only steers them.
What would Australia’s bill change? If passed, Australians aged 16 and above could choose a chronological feed of followed accounts instead of algorithmic recommendations.
Do TikTok and YouTube offer similar controls? Yes. TikTok has Manage Topics and Smart Keyword Filters, and YouTube announced prompt-built Custom Feeds on September 23, 2026.
The Takeaway
October 2026 gave users two answers to the same question. Meta’s answer is a better steering wheel. Australia’s answer is an off switch that does not exist yet. Use the tools available today, and watch the Senate, because the real test of social media algorithm control is whether a written preference can beat a watched video, or whether only a law can do that.
Sources
- TechCrunch, October 13, 2026, Facebook is giving users more control over their algorithm: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/facebook-is-giving-users-more-control-over-their-algorithm/
- Storyboard18, Australia introduces bill to let social media users opt out of algorithmic feeds: https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/australia-introduces-bill-to-let-social-media-users-opt-out-of-algorithmic-feeds-112705.htm
- B and T, Meta adds algorithm controls to Facebook following government’s proposed opt-out laws: https://www.bandt.com.au/meta-adds-algorithm-controls-to-facebook-following-govts-proposed-opt-out-laws/
- Prompt the Market, Meta tunes Facebook feeds but stops short of opt-out: https://www.promptthemarket.com/meta-tunes-facebook-feeds-but-stops-short-of-opt-out/
- Autoadify, Social media feed controls, Your Algorithm 2026: https://autoadify.com/blog/social-media-feed-controls-your-algorithm-2026
- CNN, October 22, 2026, social media user algorithm control (source page could not be opened; facts used here come from the verified alternate sources listed above).
