Instagram's Algorithm in 2026: What Still Works for Brand and Creator Content
What Instagram itself says about ranking Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels, the three signals it named in 2025, the rules against reposted content, and what that means for creator campaigns.
Every few months a new Instagram algorithm change sends brands scrambling. Most of that energy is wasted, because Instagram has been fairly open about what it ranks on, and the core signals have stayed stable: whether people watch, like and share a post, and whether the content is original.
Quick answer
Instagram uses different ranking systems for Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels, but they all predict how likely you are to watch, like, comment on and share a post. In January 2025 Instagram's head, Adam Mosseri, named watch time, likes and sends (shares by message) as the three most important signals. Instagram also shows reposted, watermarked or low-quality Reels less, and from 2026 it stops recommending accounts that mostly repost other people's content. For brands, that means original creator content with a strong opening, made natively for the format.
How Instagram says ranking works
Instagram's own explainer, published by Mosseri in May 2023, describes a separate system for each surface. The table summarises the signals and predictions it lists.
| Surface | Main signals Instagram lists | What it predicts |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Your activity, information about the post (popularity, recency), the poster, your history with them | Time spent, comments, likes, shares, profile taps |
| Stories | Viewing history, engagement history, closeness to the author | Tapping in, replying, skipping |
| Explore | How quickly others engage with the post, your Explore activity, the poster | Likes, saves, shares |
| Reels | Your activity, your history with the poster, the reel's audio, visuals and popularity | Resharing, watching to the end, liking, visiting the audio page |
The three signals Instagram named in 2025
In January 2025 Mosseri said watch time, likes and sends are the most important signals, and suggested tracking average watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach in Insights. He added that likes matter slightly more for content shown to followers and sends matter slightly more for reaching people who don't follow you.
- Watch time: a hook in the first seconds and pacing without dead air keep people watching.
- Likes per reach: a better comparison between creators than raw likes, because it adjusts for audience size.
- Sends per reach: content people forward to a friend tends to reach new audiences, which matters most for awareness campaigns.
Originality and reposted content
Instagram's explainer says it aims to show Reels less if they are low-resolution, watermarked, muted, bordered, mostly text, or already posted on Instagram. In 2024 it stopped recommending accounts that repeatedly repost other people's content, and in April 2026 it extended that rule beyond Reels to photos and carousels. Reposting through collab posts, the repost button or a meaningful remix is still allowed.
What this means for creator campaigns
- Brief creators to make content natively for Instagram. A TikTok export with a watermark starts at a disadvantage.
- Judge creators on average watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach from recent Insights, not follower count.
- Publish creator content as a Collab post or run it as a Partnership Ad instead of re-uploading it to the brand account.
- Let the creator's own format and voice lead; content that looks like an ad tends to hold attention less well.
- Plan several posts per creator where budget allows. One post is a single test; a series gives you data to learn from.
For the formats themselves, see Reels influencer marketing, Instagram Collab posts and Instagram Partnership Ads. For longer creator relationships, see ambassador-style, multi-post partnerships.