Last October, Meta began testing a new Instagram feature that gives users more control over what appears in their feed. This feature allows users to customize the platform’s algorithm by selecting or removing topics to better suit their interests. At the time, Meta said it was exploring a similar feature for its microblogging app Threads. And it is now rolling out to users.
The AI-powered feature, called Dear Algo, is launching in beta for Threads users in the US, allowing them to personalize their feeds by specifying what they would like to see more or less of. Although it is similar to Instagram’s theme-based customization, the implementation is slightly different. Instead of selecting or removing topics from a list, Dear Algo allows users to customize what appears in their feed using natural language prompts.
According to Meta, users can simply type “Dear Algo” in a public Threads post and then specify what they would like to see more or less of. For example, a user who wants more content about popular podcasts can type: “Dear Algo, show me more posts about podcasts.”
Your request shapes your feed and others can join in
Once the request is shared, the feature will adjust the feed for three days and display posts relevant to the request. Dear Algo also has a community aspect that allows users to repost another user’s request and apply those content settings to their own feed.
Users can view both active and expired Dear Algo requests in the app’s settings. You can also delete active requests to remove personalization or repost expired requests if you want to apply them again.
Outside the US, Dear Algo is rolling out to Threads users in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Meta says it plans to expand to more regions soon, but hasn’t announced a timeline for a broader release.
