Social media algorithm update tracker
Every algorithm change on seven platforms, dated, sourced and explained in one line.
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What changed in 2026
All 45 changes, newest first.
October 20262 changes
FacebookFormat shift
Facebook tests a Reels-first app in India and Indonesia
Facebook is testing a version of its app that opens to full-screen Reels in India and Indonesia, with the classic feed kept as a second tab and an opt-out. Meta may bring it to the US in 2027.
For a small business: Short vertical video is where Facebook is heading. Start adding Reels to your Page now.
YouTubeReach down
YouTube Shorts ranking favours original content over reposts
YouTube said it is updating Shorts recommendations to further prioritize original content and reduce the reach of videos re-uploaded from other creators without adding anything new.
For a small business: Film your own Shorts. If you share someone else's clip, add your own commentary, tips or editing so it is not treated as a repost.
September 20261 change
FacebookReach down
Facebook expands test limiting Pages to two link posts a month
Meta expanded its test limiting some Facebook Pages to two link posts per month unless they pay for a Meta One subscription. Publisher Pages are exempt. It is still a test, not a full rollout.
For a small business: Do not rely on Facebook link posts for traffic. Mix in native posts and check if your Page is in the test.
August 20261 change
YouTubePolicy
YouTube counts a view the moment any video starts playing
From August 24, 2026, long videos and live streams count a view as soon as playback starts, matching Shorts, instead of after 30 seconds. Earnings stay tied to engaged views and engaged watch hours.
For a small business: View counts will jump on long videos too. Compare old and new videos on watch time and engaged views instead.
June 20261 change
InstagramPolicy
Instagram 'Your Algorithm' expands to the main feed
Adam Mosseri announced Your Algorithm now works in the main feed as well as Reels and Explore. It is one system, so topic changes update recommendations everywhere.
For a small business: Followers alone no longer decide what shows in feed. Keep each post clearly on your core topic.
May 20261 change
YouTubePolicy
YouTube makes AI labels more visible and applies them automatically
AI labels moved to more visible spots, below the player on long videos and as an overlay on Shorts. If a creator does not disclose but YouTube detects significant photorealistic AI use, it now applies a label itself.
For a small business: If you post realistic AI video, disclose it yourself. YouTube may label it anyway, and viewers will now see that label clearly.
April 20261 change
InstagramReach down
Instagram stops recommending photos and carousels from repost accounts
Instagram extended its originality rules from Reels to photos and carousels. Accounts that mostly repost content they did not create are no longer recommended in feeds or Discover. People who already follow them still see their posts.
For a small business: Post your own photos and designs. A carousel of reposted memes will not reach new people on Instagram anymore.
March 20263 changes
FacebookReach down
Facebook prioritizes original content in Feed and Reels
Meta said it prioritizes original content in Feed and Reels and deprioritizes unoriginal posts like stitched clips without additions or near duplicates. Accounts posting mostly unoriginal content may become non-recommendable.
For a small business: Film your own clips. Reaction or stitched videos need real added commentary to be recommended.
LinkedInReach down
LinkedIn hides automated comments and acts on engagement pods
LinkedIn said comments it detects as automated are kept out of the Most Relevant view and may be shown only to the commenter's network, and that it removes engagement pod groups and may restrict members who join them.
For a small business: Write your own comments. Pods and comment tools can now cut your visibility instead of raising it.
LinkedInReach down
LinkedIn rebuilds its feed ranking with large language models
LinkedIn replaced its mix of retrieval systems with one built on LLM embeddings that understands related topics, and ranked fresher posts faster. It said engagement bait and recycled thought leadership get less reach.
For a small business: Write plainly about your specialty. LinkedIn now matches posts by topic, so clear subject matter beats bait phrases.
February 20261 change
ThreadsPolicy
Threads 'Dear Algo' lets users steer their feed for three days
Users can post 'Dear Algo' with what they want to see more or less of, and Threads adjusts their feed for three days. Launched in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
For a small business: Post clearly about your topic so you show up when people ask Threads for more of it.
January 20262 changes
TikTokPolicy
TikTok's new US venture will retrain the For You algorithm
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture was formed on January 22, 2026, and committed to retraining, testing and updating the For You recommendation algorithm on US user data stored in a US cloud.
For a small business: US reach on TikTok may shift while the algorithm is retrained. Track your views weekly and keep posting steadily.
XPolicy
X open-sources a For You ranking built on Grok's architecture
X published code for a For You ranking system that uses the same transformer architecture as xAI's Grok, predicts engagement from each user's history and drops hand-engineered features. Blocks and mutes lower a post's score.
For a small business: Posts that get people blocking or muting you now cost reach on X. Post things your followers want to engage with.
December 20253 changes
FacebookReach down
Facebook tests a two-link limit for Pages without Meta Verified
Meta began testing a limit of two link posts for professional-mode accounts and Pages unless they pay for Meta Verified. Affiliate links, links in comments, links to Meta platforms and publishers are not included.
For a small business: Put your website link in the first comment, or share native posts, if your Page hits the link limit.
InstagramPolicy
Instagram 'Your Algorithm' lets users pick Reels topics
Instagram launched Your Algorithm in the Reels tab, starting in the US. Users see an AI summary of their interests and can ask for more or less of a topic, or add new topics. It reached Explore in April 2026.
For a small business: Make your topic obvious in captions and visuals so you match the interests people choose.
InstagramPolicy
Instagram limits posts to five hashtags
Instagram began rolling out a limit of five hashtags per post, for both Reels and feed posts. Instagram said fewer, more targeted hashtags can improve content performance.
For a small business: Pick up to five hashtags that describe the post. Treat them as labels, not a reach boost.
November 20251 change
TikTokPolicy
TikTok lets viewers dial AI-generated content up or down
TikTok added AI-generated content to Manage Topics, so people can see more or less of it in the For You feed, and said it would add invisible watermarks to AI content made with its tools.
For a small business: If you post AI-made videos, some viewers may now see fewer of them. Real footage of your business is unaffected.
October 20251 change
InstagramPolicy
Instagram Teen Accounts default to a PG-13 style content setting
Teen Accounts move to a 13+ setting that hides or does not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts and similar content. Teens can no longer follow accounts that regularly share age-inappropriate content. US, UK, Australia, Canada first.
For a small business: If teens are your customers, keep posts free of strong language and risky stunts so they can still see them.
August 20252 changes
InstagramReach up
Instagram reposts can carry your post to non-followers
Instagram launched reposts of public reels and feed posts. Reposts are recommended to the reposter's friends and followers, credited to the original creator, and may reach people who do not follow the original account.
For a small business: Ask happy customers and partners to repost your Reels. Their followers may see them even if they don't follow you.
YouTubeReach up
YouTube Hype, a fan boost for smaller creators, reaches 39 countries
Hype lets viewers boost videos under a week old from creators with fewer than 500k subscribers. Hyped videos are ranked on a leaderboard. YouTube said Hype was live in 39 countries including the US, UK and India.
For a small business: Ask loyal customers to Hype a new video in its first week. It can put a small channel on the Hype leaderboard.
July 20252 changes
YouTubePolicy
YouTube tightens monetization rules on mass-produced videos
YouTube updated Partner Program rules from July 15, 2025 to better spot mass-produced, repetitive content and renamed 'repetitious content' to 'inauthentic content'. Channels using AI tools stay eligible if videos add original value.
For a small business: Avoid near-identical template videos. Add your own commentary, footage or know-how to each upload so it stays monetizable.
FacebookReach down
Facebook reduces reach for accounts reposting others' content
Meta said accounts that repeatedly reuse others' content will lose monetization for a time and see reduced distribution, and duplicate videos will get less reach. Reactions, trends and adding your own take are not penalized.
For a small business: Share your own videos and photos. If you reuse a clip, add your own commentary or take.
June 20251 change
FacebookFormat shift
Facebook shares all new videos as Reels
Facebook said all videos will be shared as Reels, the Video tab becomes Reels, and Reels lose their length and format limits. Meta said the change won't affect which videos are recommended. Rolling out over months.
For a small business: Any video you upload to your Page is now a Reel. Vertical video fits the format best.
May 20251 change
ThreadsReach up
Threads surfaces posts with links more often
Threads said posts containing links will be surfaced more often in recommendations, added up to five links in bios, and added link insights. In June, Adam Mosseri said links had been ranking much better for over a month.
For a small business: You can share links to your site on Threads. Check the new link insights to see if they get clicks.
April 20251 change
FacebookReach down
Facebook cuts reach for long hashtag-stuffed or unrelated captions
Meta said accounts posting long, distracting captions with many hashtags, or captions unrelated to the content, will see reduced reach and lose monetization. Comments detected as coordinated fake engagement will be seen less.
For a small business: Keep captions short and about the post. Skip long hashtag blocks on Facebook.
March 20252 changes
YouTubePolicy
YouTube counts a Shorts view every time it starts or replays
From March 31, 2025, Shorts views count each time a Short starts to play or replay. Earnings and YouTube Partner Program eligibility still use engaged views, not the new view number.
For a small business: Expect higher Shorts view counts. Judge results on engaged views, watch time and comments, not the headline view number.
FacebookFormat shift
Facebook Friends tab shows only posts from friends
Facebook relaunched its Friends tab in the US and Canada as a feed made entirely of content from your friends: stories, reels, posts and birthdays, with no recommended content. Meta called it the first of several 'OG' Facebook features.
For a small business: The Friends tab only shows friends' content, so keep your Page active in the main feed and Reels.
January 20254 changes
InstagramFormat shift
Instagram profile grid switches from square to rectangular
Instagram changed the profile grid from square tiles to a rectangular layout. Adam Mosseri said most uploads are vertical and square tiles cropped them too much.
For a small business: Check how your post thumbnails crop in the taller grid tiles and keep key text away from the edges.
InstagramFormat shift
Instagram Reels can now be up to 3 minutes long
Instagram extended Reels from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. Days later Instagram said it would also recommend these longer Reels in discovery surfaces such as Explore.
For a small business: You can post Reels up to 3 minutes. Make the length fit the story, not the old 90 second cap.
InstagramReach up
Instagram and Threads recommend political content by default again
Meta reversed its 2024 limit. Political content is recommended by default again, with less, standard or more options. Adam Mosseri said it proved impractical to draw a red line around political content. Starts in the US.
For a small business: Civic or local-issue posts can be recommended again. Users can still turn this content down in settings.
FacebookReach up
Facebook brings political content back with personalized ranking
Meta said it would treat civic content from people and Pages you follow on Facebook more like any other content, rank it using likes and viewing signals, and recommend more of it based on those signals, with more user controls.
For a small business: Posts touching local issues are no longer broadly held back. Reach now depends on how your audience engages.
December 20241 change
InstagramReach up
Instagram Trial Reels test content with non-followers first
Trial reels are shown to non-followers first and not on your grid. Metrics appear after about 24 hours, and you can have Instagram share a trial with followers automatically if it performs well within 72 hours.
For a small business: Use Trial Reels to test a new idea on strangers before your followers see it.
November 20241 change
ThreadsReach down
Threads shows more posts from accounts you follow
Adam Mosseri said Threads was rebalancing ranking to prioritize posts from followed accounts, which means less recommended content from accounts people do not follow. He said creators should expect less reach with non-followers.
For a small business: On Threads, build followers. Your posts now reach people who follow you more than strangers.
October 20241 change
YouTubeFormat shift
YouTube Shorts can now run up to 3 minutes
Square or vertical videos up to 3 minutes uploaded from October 15, 2024 are treated as Shorts and shown in the Shorts feed. Videos uploaded before that date keep their long-form status. Rollout reached all users by January 2025.
For a small business: A vertical clip under 3 minutes now goes to the Shorts feed. Go past 3 minutes if you want it treated as a regular video.
April 20241 change
InstagramReach up
Instagram ranks original content above reposts
When the same content appears more than once, Instagram will recommend only the original. Accounts that repeatedly post others' content without adding to it will not be shown in recommendations. New posts are first tested with a small audience.
For a small business: Post your own photos and videos. Reposting other people's content will not get you recommended.
March 20243 changes
LinkedInFormat shift
LinkedIn tests a swipeable vertical video feed
LinkedIn confirmed it was testing a Video tab with a vertical feed of short, career-focused videos people can swipe through, like, comment on and share. It said video was becoming a favourite format for learning from experts.
For a small business: Short vertical clips of you explaining your work now have a dedicated place to be discovered on LinkedIn.
TikTokPolicy
TikTok pays creators for original videos over one minute
TikTok replaced its Creativity Program Beta with the Creator Rewards Program, which pays for original videos longer than one minute and weighs originality, play duration, search value and audience engagement.
For a small business: If you post on TikTok, test some original videos over a minute long. They are what TikTok chose to reward.
YouTubePolicy
YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic AI content
Creators must tick a disclosure in YouTube Studio when a video contains realistic altered or synthetic media, such as a real person's likeness or altered real events. YouTube shows a label and can add one itself if it detects synthetic media.
For a small business: If you use AI to make realistic people or scenes, tick the disclosure box when uploading. AI scripts or effects do not need it.
February 20241 change
InstagramReach down
Instagram and Threads stop recommending political content by default
Meta said Instagram and Threads would no longer proactively recommend political content to non-followers in Reels, Explore and in-feed recommendations. Followers still see it. Users can opt in through Settings.
For a small business: If you post about laws or social issues, expect reach mostly from followers, not from recommendations.
October 20231 change
XReach down
X removes headlines from link previews
X began showing link cards as an image with only the domain, without the article headline. Elon Musk said the algorithm optimizes for time spent on X, so links get less attention.
For a small business: On X, say what the link is about in your own words, and consider posting the key point natively.
June 20231 change
LinkedInReach down
LinkedIn favours expert advice and posts from people you know
LinkedIn said it reduced reach for engagement bait and viral reposts that do not fit a professional network, showed more posts from connections and followed accounts, and rewarded posts that share knowledge and advice.
For a small business: Share what you know from running your business. Skip 'like if you agree' posts and recycled viral content.
May 20231 change
InstagramPolicy
Instagram explains its ranking and what Reels it shows less
Adam Mosseri said Instagram uses separate ranking systems for Feed, Stories, Explore, Reels and Search. It makes low-resolution, watermarked, muted, bordered, mostly-text or already-posted Reels less prominent.
For a small business: Upload clean, sharp Reels with sound. Do not repost clips with another app's watermark or heavy borders.
March 20231 change
XPolicy
Twitter publishes the code behind its For You timeline
Twitter open-sourced most of its recommendation code. It said For You picks the best 1,500 posts per user from hundreds of millions, and is on average half from accounts you follow and half from accounts you do not.
For a small business: Half of For You comes from people who do not follow you yet, so replies and posts that earn engagement can travel.
July 20222 changes
InstagramReach down
Instagram drops full-screen feed test and cuts back recommendations
After user backlash, Adam Mosseri said Instagram would end its full-screen feed test and temporarily reduce the share of recommended posts in the feed while it improved ranking.
For a small business: Your followers still matter most. Keep posting for the people who already follow you, not only for discovery.
InstagramFormat shift
Instagram shares new videos under 15 minutes as Reels
New video posts shorter than 15 minutes are now shared as Reels. On public accounts, anyone can discover these Reels, not only followers. Older videos stay as they were.
For a small business: Post vertical video as a Reel. On a public account it can be recommended to people who do not follow you yet.
How we track a change
An entry goes on this list when a platform changed what gets shown, to whom, or in what shape: ranking, recommendations, formats that change distribution, and rules that cut or restore reach. New buttons and stickers do not count unless they change who sees a post.
Every entry links to its source. We look first for the platform's own newsroom, creator blog, help center or a post by the executive in charge, such as Instagram's Adam Mosseri. When the platform did not post it, we use reputable press that reported it at the time. We leave out theories from screenshots, growth hacks and "the algorithm hates links" posts that no platform or reporter confirmed.
The date is when the change was announced or started rolling out, as precise as the source allows. Tests that only some accounts see are marked as tests. Sources last checked on Oct 9, 2026.
What the tags mean
- Reach up. Some content can now reach more people.
- Reach down. Some content now gets less distribution.
- Format shift. A length, shape or format changed.
- Policy. Rules, controls or eligibility changed.
A tag is about the content the change touches, not about your account. A reach-down change for reposted clips is good news for an account that films its own.
What to do when an algorithm changes
- Read the platform's own words first. Most panic posts are about a change that was never announced.
- Wait two weeks of normal posting before you judge. One slow post is noise.
- Compare reach per post, not follower count. A change shows up in who sees you before it shows up in who follows you.
- Keep making your own photos and videos. Across platforms, recent changes reward original content and cut reach for reposts.
- Keep one channel you own, like your email list or website, so a change on one app never takes all your customers with it.
Spotted a change we missed?
Email us at admin@beevi.ai with the platform, the date and a link to the announcement or a news report. We add it once we can confirm it from the source. Each entry has its own link, so you can point readers to a single change.
Questions people ask
Has the Instagram algorithm changed recently?
The most recent Instagram change on this tracker is from Jun 10, 2026: Instagram 'Your Algorithm' expands to the main feed. Adam Mosseri announced Your Algorithm now works in the main feed as well as Reels and Explore. It is one system, so topic changes update recommendations everywhere. Every change is listed with its date and source, newest first.
What is going on with the LinkedIn algorithm?
The most recent LinkedIn change on this tracker is from Mar 13, 2026: LinkedIn hides automated comments and acts on engagement pods. LinkedIn said comments it detects as automated are kept out of the Most Relevant view and may be shown only to the commenter's network, and that it removes engagement pod groups and may restrict members who join them. Every change is listed with its date and source, newest first.
Did the TikTok algorithm change?
The most recent TikTok change on this tracker is from Jan 22, 2026: TikTok's new US venture will retrain the For You algorithm. The TikTok USDS Joint Venture was formed on January 22, 2026, and committed to retraining, testing and updating the For You recommendation algorithm on US user data stored in a US cloud. Every change is listed with its date and source, newest first.
How often do social media algorithms change?
Often. This tracker logged 17 confirmed changes across 7 platforms in the 12 months up to Oct 6, 2026, with Instagram changing the most (4). Those are only the changes a platform announced or reputable press reported. Platforms also run small ranking tests all the time that nobody announces.
How do I see or change my algorithm on Instagram?
Instagram added a control called Your Algorithm in December 2025. It shows a summary of the topics Instagram thinks you like and lets you ask for more or less of a topic. It started in the Reels tab, reached Explore in April 2026 and the main feed in June 2026. You can also reset your recommendations in settings.
Where do these updates come from?
From the platforms' own newsrooms, creator blogs, help centers and executive posts first, and from reputable press when the platform did not post it. Every entry links to its source. We leave out rumors and screenshots that no platform or reporter confirmed.
What should a small business do when an algorithm changes?
Read what the platform actually said, then give it two weeks of normal posting before you judge. Compare reach per post rather than follower count. Keep posting your own photos and videos, since recent changes on several platforms reward original content over reposts, and keep a channel you own, like an email list.
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