Are you an avid Instagrammer who spends most of your time ensuring the feed looks organized and coordinated? Instagram provides various ways to organize the following list. You might have noticed the Sort by menu with the Default option at the top of your following list. But what does Sort by Default mean and how Instagram orders the following list for you?
This form of sorting opts for Instagram’s algorithm to arrange the accounts based on a combination of a few factors such as engagement, activity, and relevance. Let us discuss this in detail in today’s article.
What Does Sort by Default Mean on Instagram Following List?
Often if you have manually not changed the settings, you must have noticed there is no such particular manner in which you find the people you follow. This is because Instagram does not apply any specific criteria to determine the order in which your followed accounts are shown.
Sort by Default is a straightforward and unfiltered view of your following list, allowing you to explore the accounts you follow without any predetermined organization or ranking. The app takes numerous factors into account such as your location, interactions, account activity, and mutual followings. In addition to this, it is important to remember that you can change sorting options. Currently, the app lets you:
- Sort by Latest: You can use this sorting option to see accounts that you recently followed at the top.
- Sort by Earliest: This sorting option lets you see the earliest followed accounts in your profile.
How Does Instagram Order Your Default Following List?
As stated earlier, Instagram determines the order of your following list by considering a bunch of different factors such as:
- Interactions– The amount of interaction you do with other Instagram accounts in your following list plays a huge role here. So, the more you interact with someone, the higher will be their chances of being at the top of your following list.
- Mutual followers– The more mutual followers you have with someone, the higher they will be placed in your following list. Similarly, people with fewer mutual followers will be at the bottom.
- Popularity– The popularity of an Instagram account also determines its place in your following list. Generally, people like content creators and influencers with thousands of followers appear at the top.
- Location– In some cases, location can significantly influence who will be at the top of your following list. An account with a location closer to you is more likely to be among the top accounts than other users.
- Account activity– Interestingly, the algorithm also considers account activity while determining the default order of your list. In other words, less active or inactive accounts will be placed at the bottom while more active ones will remain at the top.
