Explaining how Instagram’s ‘Suggested Profiles’ works, and if it’s really your secret stalkers

There are loads of rumours about what the Suggested For You profiles tab on Instagram actually means, so here’s an explanation of what Instagram themselves have said. 

If you’ve ever used Instagram, you’ll have seen the Suggested For You tab on your homepage. In this section, Instagram recommends profiles of people it thinks you’ll know/are interested in. Sometimes they’re followed by some people you follow, other times it seems like a completely random suggestion. So what’s really fuelling the recommendations?

via Instagram

For a long time, there’s been a rumour that these are the accounts of people who stalk you or you have stalked. Some people claim it even reveals the mystery person your partner might be secretly flirting with through some algorithmic magic.  

Here’s what Instagram have actually said about the Suggested For You profile section

Well, we can finally put the rumours to rest, as Instagram has released its own explanation for what actually inspired this suggestion. 

It’s actually powered by a hyper-individualised system that first analyses potential profiles based on things like “followers of accounts that the user already follows, popular accounts in the user’s geographical region” and “accounts related to topics the user has recently engaged with”.

Most Read

‘I lost half of my soul’: Hayden Panettiere shared heartbreak after brother died in 2023 aged 28

The male reality TV stars whose nudes were leaked, and the Love Islander who now does gay p*rn

I was Peter Pan at Disney World, and my stalker’s ‘disturbing’ questions were only half of it

Oh so instagram does suggests an account if you looked it up https://t.co/ipB1vNkAdQ

— Angie (@strictlycowgirl) August 17, 2026

Then, machine learning (ML) algorithms rank these accounts by factors like the number of mutual followers or the number of shared interactions you guys have. Lastly, it filters out any accounts that violate Instagram Community Guidelines, and any accounts that may be deactivated – or blacked. 

So, much less magical than the algorithm fairy revealing exactly the girl you should be worried about, but if someone comes up on your suggested profiles, then there’s a very technical machine behind it that thinks you guys have some mutual connection, so it’s not just random. Use that information however you want.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via Instagram/Canva