Instagram is a social networking application that allows you to share images and videos among your followers and friends.
In this blog, you may find the answers to the basic questions that pop up in your mind regarding the features provided by Instagram.
One such feature is “who you might know”.
So, you will find here what the “Who you might know is on Instagram” feature means, how it works, and how to remove it.
Who You Might Know Is On Instagram Meaning
Who you might know is on Instagram suggests people who the application thinks you know or are linked with.
Using who you might know feature Instagram tries to suggest to you people who you are not following but have some links with.
These suggested accounts may be of people with whom your share mutual followers, live near you, are there in your phone contacts, etc.
How Does Instagram Choose Who You Might Know?
Instagram chooses the who you might know accounts using an algorithm that works on the basis of the following points:
1. You Share Mutual Followers
Instagram may suggest to you those accounts with whom you have got some mutuals that you both follow.
For example, a senior from your school might be shown in the who you might know section because of the mutual school friends that you both have in common.
Because you both follow the same people, that is why Instagram may have thought that you both might know each other.
2. Your Close Friends May Follow Them
Those accounts may be shown in the who you might know section, which your close friends follow. These close friends, based on whom these accounts are suggested, are the ones with whom you share the highest interaction.
This happens because Instagram does notice with whom you chat the most, tag the most in your posts, and comment the most on whose posts.
Based on this observation, Instagram selects a person as your close friend and then suggests to you those accounts that they follow.
3. They Are From Your Contacts
If you have added your mobile number to the Instagram account and synced your contacts, then people who you might know feature might suggest you the people who use Instagram and are among your contacts.
4. Your Are In Their Contacts
If that person has your number and you both have synced your contacts to Instagram, then they might be suggested in your who you might know feature.
5. They Might Be Your Facebook Friends
If you both have connected your Instagram accounts with Facebook, then your Facebook friend who you do not follow on Instagram may be suggested in the who you might know section.
6. You Might Have Followed Them Earlier
Instagram might suggest to you those people who you might have followed earlier and then removed.
Instagram keeps a record of those people who you once followed and then unfollowed. That is why it suggests you follow them back.
7. They Might Be Living In Your Area
Because of the location services that enable you to add the location to your Instagram stories and posts, Instagram learns your location and suggests people living around the same location.
This location service is another way used by Instagram to suggest people in the who you might know feature.
Also Read: How To Turn ON/ OFF Vanish Mode On Instagram?
What Does It Mean When Instagram Suggests Someone?
When Instagram suggests someone, it means that Instagram has used its algorithms to suggest your accounts through the people you might know feature so that you can follow people who you should know.
The algorithm that Instagram uses revolves around suggesting people who you might have followed before, who might be your Facebook friends, who might be living in the same location as you, who might be in your contacts, etc.
Therefore, Instagram is trying to widen your follower list by the people you might know feature.
How To Turn Off Who You Might Know Is On Instagram?
Steps To Turn Off Who You Might Know Is On Instagram:
Step 1: Open any browser of your preference.
Step 2: Search and open Instagram’s website.
Step 3: Enter your account details like user ID and password.
Step 4: Then go to your profile by tapping on the profile picture present in the top-right corner of your screen.
Step 5: Scroll down till you find the option “include your account when recommending similar accounts people might want to follow”.
Step 6: Click on the checkbox which might have been marked with a tick. By doing this, you won’t ever see the who you might know section on your Instagram.
Also Read: Fix: Instagram Not Loading Posts
Conclusion
Instagram’s people who you might know feature enables you to know and follow the people who you might be knowing.
Instagram suggests these people to you using its algorithm, which is based on how you might know these people.
Instagram suggests the people who might be your Facebook friends, in your contact list, might be having mutual friends, might live in the same location, etc.
You can turn this feature off only by logging in to your account on Instagram’s official website.
