by Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson was recently asked a question by a follower named Molly C., who asked: “How can I please keep those commercial clickbait/advertising posts off my Instagram feed and reels ?”
This is a common question people face on Instagram and other social media feeds, and there are a few different ways to fix the problem.
A person scrolls through Instagram posts on their phone. (CyberGuy.com)
Here is the answer:
How to reduce annoying ad posts on Instagram
1. Hide posts
- If you come across a commercial post that you don’t want to see, you can hide it by tapping the three dots in the top right corner of the post.
- Select “Hide ad,” then you will be asked, “Why are you hiding this ad?” Choose the answer, and a prompt screen will pop up that says, “You will not see this ad again.”
2. Follow the accounts if you no longer want to see posts from a particular account. You can unfollow him by:
- Going to the account profile.
- Tapping the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Selecting “Follow.”
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3. Ad preferences: Instagram allows you to manage your advertising preferences.
- Go to your profile, which is the icon in the bottom right corner of your phone.
- Tap the three lines in the upper right corner.
- Select “Settings.”
- Select “Ads” – from there, you can choose the types of ads you want to see or not see.
- Under “Ad Preferences,” you can tap “Ad Topics” or “Activity Information from ad partners.”
If you click “Ad topics,” you can then scroll down and see all the ad topics based on your activity on Meta Technologies. Just click on the topic, and then you’ll be asked to click “No option,” or “Show fewer ads about this topic.” If you tap “Action from ad partners,” you will be prompted to “Review the setting.” You will then be asked this question: “Would you like us to use your activity information from ad partners to display?” Select “Yes” or “No.“
- If you click “Ad topics,” you can then scroll down and see all the ad topics based on your activity on Meta Technologies. Just click on the topic, and then you’ll be asked to click “No option,” or “Show fewer ads about this topic.”
- If you tap “Action from ad partners ,” you will be prompted to “Review the setting.” You will then be asked this question: “Would you like us to use your activity information from ad partners to display?” Select “Yes” or “No. “
4. Report spam if you come across a spam post or if you violate Instagram’s terms of service:
- Tap the three dots.
- Choose “Report,” is in red.
- From there, you will be taken to a page with tips for why you are reporting the post (ie spam, hate speech or symbols, bullying or harassment, etc.).
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5. Use “Hidden Words.” You can use this feature to hide suggested posts with hashtags or captions that contain specific words, phrases or emojis:
- Go to your Instagram profile by clicking on the icon or your picture in the lower right corner.
- Click on the 3 horizontal lines at the top right of the page.
- Tap “Settings,” and then “Privacy.”
- In the Privacy tab, select “Hidden Words.”
- Scroll down to “Custom words for posts,” and select “Manage custom words and phrases.”
- Type any words or phrases in the text bubble that say, “Add words separated by commas.”Yyou can add multiple words, phrases and emojis.
- Press“Add” when finished.
A person looks at an Instagram post on their phone while sitting at a table with a journal and a cup of coffee. (CyberGuy.com)
Remember, Instagram is a free app, and ads are one way the platform generates revenue. While taking the above actions may help reduce commercial and advertising posts, they may not completely remove such weird posts from your Instagram feed.
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Instagram’s algorithms are constantly changing, so you may still see new sponsored posts on your account no matter how hard we try to avoid them.
Instagram app shown on iPhone home screen. (CyberGuy.com)
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