Tapping Not interested shows you fewer reels like that one, but it doesn't turn Reels off, so the tab keeps filling up. If you want Reels gone and your DMs kept, the most direct option is minulo, an iPhone app that opens Instagram with the Reels tab, Reels in the feed and Explore hidden, and hiding is free. It can also lock the official app, free for up to 2 hours per block, with schedules in minulo Pro.
You open the Reels tab, see a clip you don't want, and tap Not interested. The next reel is almost the same kind of thing. You tap it again. Ten minutes later the tab is still full of the same topic, and you start to wonder whether the button does anything at all.
It does something, just less than most people expect. This post goes through what Not interested actually changes, why Reels keep coming after you tap it, which settings cut down a certain kind of reel, and what to do if you want Reels gone instead of fewer.
A quick note first: I'm Ayumu Kitabayashi, and I develop minulo, an iPhone app that opens Instagram with the Reels tab hidden while DMs keep working. I mention it near the end, along with what it can't do. The facts about Instagram below come from Instagram Help and Meta's Transparency Center, checked on 2026-10-25. Menu names can change with app updates.
The short answer
Not interested does what Instagram's help says: you see fewer posts like the one you marked. It does not turn Reels off, and it works on one reel at a time. The Reels tab keeps recommending reels similar to what you recently engaged with.
The settings that reduce a kind of reel are Don't suggest posts with certain words, Reset suggested content, and Your algorithm where it's available. None of them removes the Reels tab. I couldn't find a setting in Instagram's help that does.
Every option, side by side
| What you can do | What it changes | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Not interested (Options on a reel) | Instagram shows you fewer posts like that one. | One reel at a time. Reels stay on. |
| Don't suggest posts with certain words (in the Not interested menu) | Hides suggested posts whose caption or hashtags contain words, phrases or emoji you add. Reels count. | Only captions and hashtags. Not accounts you follow, and not on instagram.com. |
| Snooze (in the Not interested menu) | Pauses all suggested posts in your Feed for 30 days. | Instagram's help says Feed. It doesn't mention the Reels tab. |
| Reset suggested content (Menu › Content preferences) | Starts your suggestions over. | Can't be undone. Suggestions personalize again as you like, share and interact. |
| Your algorithm (Reels, Explore, or Content preferences) | Lets you add topics to see more or less of, across Feed, Reels and Explore. | Instagram's help says it's being tested and isn't available everywhere. |
| minulo (free) | Hides the Reels tab, Reels in the feed, and Explore. DMs keep working. | The official app itself doesn't change. |
Why Reels keep coming after Not interested
The Reels tab exists to recommend things. Meta publishes a system card for it, and that card says the system collects reels from people you follow and reels similar to ones you have recently engaged with.
The same card lists some of what the system tries to predict for each reel: how likely you are to comment on it, reshare it, follow the person who posted it, or watch it for less than three seconds. So everything you watch and do keeps feeding into what comes next. The reels you mark as Not interested are one signal among many.
I looked for any statement from Meta about how much one Not interested tap counts against everything else, and didn't find one. In practice that means if you mark a cooking reel as Not interested but then watch the next three cooking reels to the end, the tab has two kinds of information about you, and they point in different directions.
What actually reduces a kind of reel
These are the steps that change which Reels you see, from the lightest to the heaviest.
1. Keep using Not interested
On a reel, tap Options, then Not interested. In Explore you can also touch and hold a post to get the same menu. Instagram's help says this works in your feed, Reels, Explore and Search. It's still one post at a time, so it helps most when you use it every time and also skip those reels quickly instead of watching them.
2. Add words you don't want to see
In the same menu, tap Don't suggest posts with certain words. Enter a word, phrase or emoji and tap Done. Instagram checks the caption and hashtags of suggested posts, including reels, and hides the ones that match.
Two limits are worth knowing. It only looks at captions and hashtags, so a reel about a topic that doesn't name it in the text will still get through. And it doesn't hide posts from accounts you follow.
3. Tune your algorithm, if you have it
From Reels, Explore, or Settings › Content preferences, you may see an option to add topics you want to see more or less of. Instagram's help says this is still being tested and depends on region, so don't worry if you can't find it.
4. Reset suggested content
If your Reels tab is full of one thing and the steps above aren't moving it, you can start over: Profile › Menu › Content preferences (under What you see) › Reset suggested content.
This can't be undone. It doesn't change who you follow and doesn't delete your data. Your suggestions will personalize again as you like, share and interact, so the first few days after a reset matter. If you watch the same kind of reel all the way through again, you'll likely end up back where you started.
What about Snooze?
The Not interested menu also has Snooze, which Instagram's help says pauses all suggested posts in your Feed for 30 days. The help page talks about the Feed. It doesn't say anything about the Reels tab, and I couldn't confirm that it changes it.
All of these change which Reels, not how many
Every setting above shapes the selection. None of them changes the number of reels the tab will give you. The tab still loads the next one when you swipe. If what bothers you is a certain topic, these tools are enough. If what bothers you is the time you lose to the tab itself, they won't solve it.
If you want Reels gone, not fewer
This is where minulo comes in. It opens Instagram's official website inside the app with the Reels tab, Reels in the feed, and Explore hidden. Suggested posts can be hidden too. DMs, posts from people you follow, and search keep working. Hiding is free.
One thing to know: Instagram's help says the word filter from step 2 doesn't apply on instagram.com, so it doesn't work inside minulo either. In minulo, suggested posts are hidden as a whole instead.
minulo can also lock the official Instagram app with Screen Time, free for up to 2 hours per block. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, blocks over 2 hours, Hard Mode, and multiple block lists.
The limits
- iPhone only. minulo isn't available on Android or iPad.
- The official Instagram app stays the same. minulo shows Instagram's website inside its own app. If you open the official app, the Reels tab is still there. That's why the lock option exists.
- No notifications while the official app is locked. Its notifications don't arrive during a block, and minulo doesn't send any of its own. Lock it only at times when you can miss them.
Which approach fits you
- A few topics keep showing up: use Not interested every time and add those words to Don't suggest posts with certain words.
- The whole tab has drifted somewhere you don't like: Reset suggested content, then be careful what you watch for the next few days.
- You want the tab gone and your DMs kept: open Instagram in minulo, which hides Reels for free.
The full page, with links to each Instagram Help article it's based on, is here: Why Instagram keeps showing Reels after you tap Not interested
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