By default, Instagram's AI recommendation system does not suggest political content from accounts a user does not follow — even if they have shown interest in political topics. This setting was switched on by default for all Instagram users in February 2024, with the option to turn it off in settings.

The political content limit applies to suggested content in Instagram's Feed, Reels, and Explore, and to Suggested Users. Users can change the setting from "Limit" to "Don't Limit" in account settings, but many did not know the change had been made without direct notification. Following the rollout, professional political accounts — including journalists, advocacy organizations, and local politicians — reported significant reductions in reach. The Markup found that Instagram suppressed nongraphic images of conflict zones. Meta has not published technical details about how "political" content is classified by the AI.