Clean up your social media feed and cut the noise
- - Clean up your social media feed and cut the noise
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy ReportFebruary 15, 2026 at 6:06 AM
0
Scrolling used to be relaxing. Now it often feels chaotic. That is not a coincidence. Nearly everything you see on social media is controlled by algorithms that track what you like, watch, click and ignore. Over time, those signals get muddy. One curiosity click can reshape your feed for weeks. The solution is not deleting your accounts. It is retraining the system.
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Your social media experience starts the moment you tap an app, and every click helps shape what shows up next. (Getty Images)
Algorithms pay attention to behavior, not intention. They track engagement patterns and repeat what keeps you scrolling. If your feed feels off, it usually means the algorithm learned the wrong lesson. Resetting your feed helps correct that.
Note: This article is written desktop-first (PC or Mac). When a step is phone-only or significantly different on mobile, it is clearly labeled.
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Primary device: PC or Mac. Phone differences noted.
Facebook's feed is built around people, pages and groups you follow, plus recommended content and ads.
Click your profile photo in the upper right
Select Settings and Privacy > Content Preferences
From here, you can:
Add people and groups to Favorites
Snooze posts temporarily
Unfollow accounts without unfriending them
Reconnect with accounts you muted before
These tools are easiest to manage on a desktop.
To bypass the main algorithmic feed:
Click Feeds in the left navigation
Choose to view only Favorites, Friends, Groups, or Pages
This shows content chronologically within those categories.
On any post in your Facebook feed:
Click the three-dot menu in the upper right of the post
Choose Hide post, Snooze, or Unfollow, depending on what appears
Hiding posts and snoozing or unfollowing accounts sends the same signal to the algorithm. Use these options often. Facebook responds more reliably to repeated negative feedback than occasional clicks.
For suggested posts and reels, you may also see Not interested. Selecting it further trains the feed away from similar content.
When ads appear:
Click the X to hide them
Or use the three-dot menu to hide or report
For deeper control:
Go to Settings and Privacy > Settings
Open Account Center
Click Ad Preferences > Customize ads
Select See All next to Ad Topics
Click View and manage topics
Click the topic name
Choose See less
Repeat this for every topic you want to limit.
To block specific words in comments:
Click your profile picture (top right on desktop)
Settings & privacy → Settings
In the left column, click Profile and Tagging
Under "Profile," look for Hide comments containing certain words from your profile and click on the arrow next to it.
Choose a list of words, phrases or emojis you want to hide from your profile and type them in the box.
Click Save below it.
Using a computer gives you deeper control over social media settings that are harder to find on a phone.
Primary device: Phone only
Instagram does not currently offer a reliable, universal option to reset its algorithm. Feed control on Instagram is manual and behavior-based. That means the app learns from what you hide, mute, unfollow and ignore.
On posts that miss the mark:
Tap the three-dot menu
Select Not interested, Mute or Unfollow, depending on what appears
Use this consistently. Instagram responds more to repeated signals than one-off actions.
Visit accounts directly and tap Following to manage how their content shows up.
From here, you can:
Mute posts or stories
Add or remove Favorites
Restrict interactions
Unfollow the account
These actions immediately influence future recommendations.
Open Settings and review:
Muted accounts
Blocked accounts
Close Friends
Cleaning up these lists helps reduce clutter and repetitive content.
If your feed still feels off after manual cleanup, starting fresh is the most effective reset.
To do this:
Log out and create a new account
Follow only accounts you truly want to see
Avoid mass-following during setup
Instagram's algorithm is heavily influenced by early behavior, so a slow, intentional start matters.
Some users may hear about an Instagram "reset" feature, but as of now, it is not consistently available across accounts.
Tap the three-dot menu on posts to unfollow or favorite accounts.
From any profile, tap Following to:
Add Close Friend
Add Favorite
Mute posts or stories
Restrict interactions
Unfollow
Under Settings, review:
Muted accounts
Blocked accounts
Close Friends
Instagram’s feed is trained by what you hide, mute and unfollow, not by a single reset button.
Primary device: Phone only
Press and hold on a video
Tap Not Interested
Consistency matters here.
Go to Profile
Tap the heart icon
Unlike videos that may be influencing recommendations
Tap Profile
Tap the three-line menu
Go to Settings and Privacy > Content Preferences
Tap Refresh Your For You Feed
Confirm
This resets recommendations but keeps your following list.
For a total reset, unfollow accounts manually or start fresh with a new account.
TikTok’s For You page reacts quickly when you mark videos as not interested or clean up past likes.
Primary device: PC recommended
On mobile:
Tap You
Tap the gear icon
Select Manage All History
Tap DELETE
On desktop:
Click your profile photo
Select Your Data in YouTube
Open YouTube Watch History
Click Manage History
Click DELETE
From here, you can:
Delete today
Delete custom range
Delete all time
Primary device: PC or Mac
This setting is easiest to access on a computer.
Go to YouTube.com and make sure you are signed in
Click your profile photo in the upper right
Select Your Data in YouTube
Scroll to the section labeled YouTube Watch History and click the right arrow
Click Manage your YouTube Watch History
Click Saving Your Watch History
On the history page:
Scroll down until you see YouTube Customize Your Feed Feedback
Click Delete to remove past feedback selections
This removes videos you previously told YouTube you wanted to see more of.
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On individual YouTube videos:
Click or tap the three-dot menu next to the video
Select Not interested
Repeat this on videos that miss the mark. YouTube relies heavily on repeated feedback signals. This option is not consistently available on the YouTube mobile app. Use a computer for the best results.
Subscriptions heavily shape recommendations. Unsubscribe from channels you no longer watch. Rebuild your list intentionally.
Primary device: PC preferred
Click your profile icon.
Go to Settings and Privacy
Click Privacy and Safety
Select Content You See
Open Interests
Here, X lists topics it believes you are interested in.
Uncheck interests you no longer care about
There is no "unselect all" option
Changes must be made one by one
This affects both recommended posts and ads.
This is where "Ads Preferences" actually lives.
Click or tap your profile icon
Go to Settings and Privacy
Select Privacy and Safety
Scroll down and click Ads Preferences
From here:
Turn off Personalized ads
Review Ad categories and disable what you can
Turn off Ads based on inferred identity, if shown
X does not allow full ad removal, but these steps reduce targeting.
On posts or ads you do not want to see again:
Click or tap the three-dot menu
Choose Not interested, Block, or Mute, depending on what appears
Also:
Unfollow accounts that no longer add value
Block advertisers directly when possible
Repeated feedback matters more than occasional actions.
X's algorithm is less forgiving than most platforms. If your feed feels irreparable, the most effective reset is:
Creating a new account
Following only accounts you truly want
Avoiding mass follows early on
Early behavior heavily shapes long-term recommendations. X offers fewer feed controls than most platforms, so changes may feel slower and less dramatic.
Works on PC, Mac and phone
On the For You feed:
Click the three-dot menu
Mark posts as not interested, mute or block
Open Settings
Go to Hidden Words
Add words, phrases or emojis separated by commas
These filters apply across Threads and Instagram.
Primary device: PC recommended
At the top of your feed, click Sort by: Top
Change it to Recent
To make it permanent:
Go to Me
Click Settings and Privacy
Select Preferred Feed View
Choose Most recent posts
Click the left arrow to save
Go to Settings and Privacy
Open Advertising Data
Select Interests and Traits
Turn off categories you do not want
On unwanted posts:
Click the three-dot menu
Select Not relevant or Not interested
Under My Network, review Followers and Following and unfollow accounts that add noise.
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Social media feels overwhelming when it runs on autopilot. A few minutes of cleanup can dramatically change what you see. Algorithms respond to clarity. The clearer your signals, the better your feed becomes. You do not need to quit social media to enjoy it again. You just need to take control.
If your feed reflects your behavior, what does yours reveal about how you spend your attention right now? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Original article source: Clean up your social media feed and cut the noise
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
