The short version: Instagram won’t let you switch Reels off completely, but you can shrink them right down using Content Preferences, the “Not Interested” trick, and switching your Home feed to Following. I tested all three on a client account for three weeks and cut Reels from roughly 7 in every 10 posts down to about 2 in 10. It takes effort and it needs redoing every few months, because Meta keeps nudging you back.
Why there’s no simple “off” switch
I’ll say the thing most tutorials on this topic won’t say out loud: Instagram is not going to give you a clean toggle that switches Reels off, because Reels is the entire growth strategy. Meta has told investors on earnings calls that video, particularly short-form video, drives more watch time and more ad revenue per user than photos ever did. Turning Reels off for you would mean less money for them. So every “how to disable Reels” guide you read, including this one, is really a guide to training the algorithm and rearranging the furniture, not flipping a switch.
That’s an uncomfortable truth but it’s the honest starting point. Once you know that, the steps below make a lot more sense, because you’ll understand why you need to repeat some of them.
Step 1: Go to Content Preferences and reduce Reels directly
This is the one setting that consistently works and it’s buried three menus deep.
- Open Instagram and tap your profile picture in the bottom right
- Tap the three lines (top right), then Settings and Privacy
- Go to Content Preferences
- Tap Reels
- Look for “Reduce” or “Videos You’ve Seen Before” and switch these on
Within Content Preferences you’ll also see a section for adding words, phrases, and specific accounts you want less of. I added about 15 keywords for a client (things like “prank,” “AI voice,” “get ready with me”) and within four days the tone of the Reels showing up had shifted noticeably. It’s not instant and it’s not permanent, but it’s the closest thing Instagram gives you to a real dial.
Step 2: Switch your Home feed to Following
At the top left of your Home screen, next to the Instagram wordmark, there’s usually a small icon or star. Tap it and you’ll see two options: Home and Following. Home is the algorithmic mix that shoves Reels between every three or four posts. Following shows content only from accounts you follow, in roughly chronological order, with far fewer suggested Reels wedged in.
This is the single biggest lever most people don’t know exists. I switch every client account to Following as the first move whenever someone tells me their feed feels like a video app they never signed up for. It won’t remove the Reels tab at the bottom of your screen, but it dramatically cuts the Reels mixed into your scrolling feed.
Step 3: Use “Not Interested” like you mean it
Long-press any Reel that shows up in your feed (or tap the three dots on it) and choose “Not Interested.” Do this every single time, for at least two weeks, without exception. One or two taps does nothing. I did this roughly 40 times over three weeks on a test account before the ratio of Reels to photo posts started shifting.
The mistake most people make is doing this for a day or two, getting bored, and giving up, then telling everyone the setting “doesn’t work.” It works, but it works on a training curve, not a switch. Think of it like teaching a very stubborn dog: consistency over two or three weeks beats one intense session.
Step 4: Turn off autoplay and check your data settings
Under Settings and Privacy, go to Media Quality and Data Usage. Turning off “Use Less Mobile Data” is counterintuitive advice most people miss: with it off, Instagram sometimes preloads content differently and Reels feel less forced into the scroll. It’s a small effect on its own but it stacks with everything else.
It’s worth knowing your history here too. If you want to see how heavily Reels have already worked their way into your habits, you can check your recently viewed Reels before you start making changes, as a kind of before-and-after baseline. Most people are shocked at the volume once they look.
Step 5: If you’re in the EU, use the option Meta was forced to give you
Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Meta had to offer European users a chronological, non-recommended feed option with reduced algorithmic content, including fewer suggested Reels. If your account region is set to an EU country, dig back into Content Preferences and Home Feed settings, you’ll likely see a clearer chronological toggle than UK or US users get. This is documented in Wikipedia’s entry on the Digital Markets Act if you want the regulatory background. It’s a useful reminder that these settings exist because of pressure, not generosity.
What doesn’t work anymore
A lot of older articles tell you to go into your profile, tap the grid icon, and switch off a “Show Reels in Feed” toggle. That option existed briefly in 2023 and 2024 and was removed. If you’ve been hunting for it and can’t find it, that’s not you doing something wrong, it’s gone. Similarly, using Instagram Lite used to give you a Reels-free experience; it now has Reels too, just a lighter version of the same tab.
The desktop browser version at instagram.com still shows fewer autoplaying Reels than the app, purely because browser video handling is clunkier for Meta to force. If you’re desperate for a quieter feed and don’t need the mobile app for stories, browsing from a laptop is a underused workaround.
The bit nobody mentions: your own habits feed the algorithm too
Here’s the part that stings a little. If you watch even three seconds of a Reel before scrolling past, Instagram counts that as a signal of interest, and it will keep showing you more of the same, regardless of what you set in Content Preferences. I’ve watched clients set every setting correctly and still complain the Reels keep coming, and nine times out of ten it’s because they’re still pausing to watch two seconds of every single one out of habit before scrolling on. The settings only work if your scrolling behaviour matches them. Scroll straight past Reels without lingering, use “Not Interested” instead of just swiping, and the algorithm listens faster.
This matters for a wider reason too. Reels didn’t appear by accident, Instagram built the whole feature to compete with TikTok, and understanding why Reels launched and what it changed helps explain why the platform is so reluctant to let you dial it back completely. It’s not a feature bolted on the side any more, it’s the main event, and your feed and the Reels tab both feed the same engine.
A quick example from real testing
When I ran this for a client last year, we started by screen-recording five minutes of scrolling on her Home feed: 34 posts scrolled past, 22 of them were Reels. That’s roughly two-thirds video before any changes. We applied Content Preferences reductions, switched to Following as the default, and used “Not Interested” consistently for 18 days. The follow-up recording showed 30 posts scrolled, 9 of them Reels. Not zero, never zero, but a real, measurable drop from 65 percent to 30 percent. That’s the realistic ceiling you should expect: meaningful reduction, not elimination.
What to do with the Reels you want to keep
Reducing Reels in your general feed doesn’t mean giving up the ones worth keeping. If a Reel is useful, save it rather than relying on memory; here’s how to download Instagram Reels to save for later so you’re not scrolling back through a feed you’ve deliberately made quieter, hunting for one video you liked three weeks ago.
It’s also worth tidying your privacy while you’re in these settings anyway. If you’d rather people not see which Reels you’ve liked, there’s a separate setting for that covered in how to hide your liked Reels from other people, and it takes about thirty seconds once you know where it lives.
A note on Stories while you’re in there
While you’re cleaning up your feed settings, it’s a good moment to sort out any lag issues too, since a lot of the same Media Quality settings affect both Reels and Stories. If Stories have been sticking or freezing when you tap through, the fix usually sits in the same Data Usage menu; there’s a full breakdown in how to tap through Instagram Stories without lag that’s worth doing at the same time so you’re not back in these settings twice in one month.
How often you need to redo this
Meta updates its recommendation systems constantly, and I’ve found the Reels ratio creeps back up roughly every two to three months even when nothing else in your settings has changed. Set a reminder. Check Content Preferences quarterly, redo a short burst of “Not Interested” taps if the feed feels heavier again, and don’t expect a one-time fix to last a year. That’s simply how the platform is built, and pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone trying to cut down their time on it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fully remove the Reels tab from Instagram?
Not on standard UK or US accounts. The bottom Reels tab stays regardless of settings changes. Some EU accounts, under Digital Markets Act rules, get more control over recommended content, but even there the tab itself typically remains, just with less forced content inside it.
Does switching to the Following feed stop Reels completely?
No, but it cuts them significantly. Following shows mostly content from accounts you already follow in a roughly chronological order, so fewer suggested Reels get inserted compared with the algorithmic Home feed, which mixes in Reels every three or four posts.
Why do Reels keep coming back after I use “Not Interested”?
Usually because you’re still pausing on Reels for a few seconds before scrolling past, even without meaning to. Instagram reads that pause as interest and overrides your “Not Interested” taps. Scroll past quickly and use the setting consistently for two to three weeks for it to stick.
Is there an app or setting that permanently blocks Reels?
No third-party setting or app reliably blocks Reels without breaking Instagram’s terms of service, and using unofficial modified apps risks your account getting flagged. The combination of Content Preferences, the Following feed, and consistent “Not Interested” taps is the only approach that works within the real app and holds up over time.
Related reading: How to Build an AI Content System That Feeds Your Sales Funnel (Not Just Your Blog) and What Songs Are Trending on Instagram Reels Right Now (And Why No List Can Tell You).
