Technology

Clean up your social media feed and cut the noise

Published

1 month ago

February 15, 2026

Clean up your social media feed and cut the noise

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Scrolling used to be relaxing. Now it often feels chaotic. That is not a coincidence. Nearly everything you see on social media is controlled by algorithms that track what you like, watch, click and ignore. Over time, those signals get muddy. One curiosity click can reshape your feed for weeks. The solution is not deleting your accounts. It is retraining the system.

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Your social media experience starts the moment you tap an app, and every click helps shape what shows up next. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

How social media algorithms decide what you see

Algorithms pay attention to behavior, not intention. They track engagement patterns and repeat what keeps you scrolling. If your feed feels off, it usually means the algorithm learned the wrong lesson. Resetting your feed helps correct that.

Note: This article is written desktop-first (PC or Mac). When a step is phone-only or significantly different on mobile, it is clearly labeled.

How to clean up your Facebook Feed

Primary device: PC or Mac. Phone differences noted.

Use Content Preferences to retrain Facebook (PC or Mac)

Facebook’s feed is built around people, pages and groups you follow, plus recommended content and ads.

Click your profile photo in the upper right
Select Settings and Privacy > Content Preferences

From here, you can:

Add people and groups to Favorites
Snooze posts temporarily
Unfollow accounts without unfriending them
Reconnect with accounts you muted before

These tools are easiest to manage on a desktop.

Filter your Feed view (PC or Mac)

To bypass the main algorithmic feed:
Click Feeds in the left navigation
Choose to view only Favorites, Friends, Groups, or Pages

This shows content chronologically within those categories.

Hide and flag posts as you scroll (PC, Mac and phone)

On any post in your Facebook feed:

Click the three-dot menu in the upper right of the post
Choose Hide post, Snooze, or Unfollow, depending on what appears

Hiding posts and snoozing or unfollowing accounts sends the same signal to the algorithm. Use these options often. Facebook responds more reliably to repeated negative feedback than occasional clicks.

For suggested posts and reels, you may also see Not interested. Selecting it further trains the feed away from similar content.

Cut down ads and sensitive topics (PC, Mac and phone)

When ads appear:

Click the X to hide them
Or use the three-dot menu to hide or report

For deeper control:

Go to Settings and Privacy > Settings
Open Account Center
Click Ad Preferences > Customize ads
Select See All next to Ad Topics
Click View and manage topics
Click the topic name
Choose See less
Repeat this for every topic you want to limit.

To block specific words in comments:

Click your profile picture (top right on desktop)
Settings & privacy → Settings
In the left column, click Profile and Tagging
Under “Profile,” look for Hide comments containing certain words from your profile and click on the arrow next to it.
Choose a list of words, phrases or emojis you want to hide from your profile and type them in the box.
Click Save below it.

Using a computer gives you deeper control over social media settings that are harder to find on a phone. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to clean up your Instagram feed

Primary device: Phone only

Instagram does not currently offer a reliable, universal option to reset its algorithm. Feed control on Instagram is manual and behavior-based. That means the app learns from what you hide, mute, unfollow and ignore.

Tell Instagram what you do not want to see (phone)

On posts that miss the mark:

Tap the three-dot menu
Select Not interested, Mute, or Unfollow, depending on what appears

Use this consistently. Instagram responds more to repeated signals than one-off actions.

Fine-tune who appears in your feed (phone)

Visit accounts directly and tap Following to manage how their content shows up.

From here, you can:

Mute posts or stories
Add or remove Favorites
Restrict interactions
Unfollow the account

These actions immediately influence future recommendations.

Review account-level controls (phone)

Open Settings and review:

Muted accounts
Blocked accounts
Close Friends

Cleaning up these lists helps reduce clutter and repetitive content.

When a new Instagram account makes sense

If your feed still feels off after manual cleanup, starting fresh is the most effective reset.

To do this:

Log out and create a new account
Follow only accounts you truly want to see
Avoid mass-following during setup

Instagram’s algorithm is heavily influenced by early behavior, so a slow, intentional start matters.

Some users may hear about an Instagram “reset” feature, but as of now, it is not consistently available across accounts.

Fine-tune who you see (phone)

Tap the three-dot menu on posts to unfollow or favorite accounts.

From any profile, tap Following to:

Add Close Friend
Add Favorite
Mute posts or stories
Restrict interactions

Unfollow

Under Settings, review:

Muted accounts
Blocked accounts
Close Friends

Instagram’s feed is trained by what you hide, mute, and unfollow, not by a single reset button. (iStock)

How to reset your TikTok For You page

Primary device: Phone only

Train the feed gradually (phone)

Press and hold on a video
Tap Not Interested

Consistency matters here.

Remove past likes (phone)

Go to Profile
Tap the heart icon
Unlike videos that may be influencing recommendations

Refresh the entire feed (phone only)

Tap Profile
Tap the three-line menu
Go to Settings and Privacy > Content Preferences
Tap Refresh Your For You Feed
Confirm

This resets recommendations but keeps your following list.

For a total reset, unfollow accounts manually or start fresh with a new account.

TikTok’s For You page reacts quickly when you mark videos as not interested or clean up past likes. (iStock)

How to reset YouTube recommendations

Primary device: PC recommended

Clear or limit watch history (PC, Mac and phone)

On mobile:

Tap You
Tap the gear icon
Select Manage All History
Tap DELETE

On desktop:

Click your profile photo
Select Your Data in YouTube
Open YouTube Watch History
Click Manage History
Click DELETE

From here, you can:

Delete today
Delete custom range
Delete all time

Remove past feed feedback

Primary device: PC or Mac

This setting is easiest to access on a computer.

Go to YouTube.com and make sure you are signed in
Click your profile photo in the upper right
Select Your Data in YouTube
Scroll to the section labeled YouTube Watch History and click the right arrow
Click Manage your YouTube Watch History
Click Saving Your Watch History

On the history page:

Scroll down until you see YouTube Customize Your Feed Feedback
Click Delete to remove past feedback selections

This removes videos you previously told YouTube you wanted to see more of.

5 TECH TERMS EVERY SMARTPHONE USER SHOULD KNOW

Continue training the feed (PC, Mac and phone)

On individual YouTube videos:

Click or tap the three-dot menu next to the video
Select Not interested

Repeat this on videos that miss the mark. YouTube relies heavily on repeated feedback signals. This option is not consistently available on the YouTube mobile app. Use a computer for the best results.

Reset subscriptions (PC, Mac and phone)

Subscriptions heavily shape recommendations. Unsubscribe from channels you no longer watch. Rebuild your list intentionally.

YouTube recommendations are driven by watch history, search history, and subscriptions you may have forgotten about. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to reduce noise on X

Primary device: PC preferred

Adjust interests and ads (PC, Mac and phone)

Click your profile icon.
Go to Settings and Privacy
Click Privacy and Safety
Select Content You See
Open Interests

Here, X lists topics it believes you are interested in.

Uncheck interests you no longer care about
There is no “unselect all” option
Changes must be made one by one

This affects both recommended posts and ads.

Adjust ad personalization settings (PC, Mac and phone)

This is where “Ads Preferences” actually lives.

Click or tap your profile icon
Go to Settings and Privacy
Select Privacy and Safety
Scroll down and click Ads Preferences

From here:

Turn off Personalized ads
Review Ad categories and disable what you can
Turn off Ads based on inferred identity, if shown

X does not allow full ad removal, but these steps reduce targeting.

Train the feed as you scroll (PC, Mac and phone)

On posts or ads you do not want to see again:

Click or tap the three-dot menu
Choose Not interested, Block, or Mute, depending on what appears
Also:
Unfollow accounts that no longer add value
Block advertisers directly when possible

Repeated feedback matters more than occasional actions.

When starting a new X account makes sense

X’s algorithm is less forgiving than most platforms. If your feed feels irreparable, the most effective reset is:

Creating a new account
Following only accounts you truly want
Avoiding mass follows early on

Early behavior heavily shapes long-term recommendations. X offers fewer feed controls than most platforms, so changes may feel slower and less dramatic.

Small, consistent actions on your phone can gradually retrain algorithms and reduce daily feed fatigue. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to clean up Threads

Works on PC, Mac and phone

Control what appears in For You

On the For You feed:
Click the three-dot menu
Mark posts as not interested, mute or block

Use Hidden Words (PC and phone)

Open Settings
Go to Hidden Words
Add words, phrases or emojis separated by commas

These filters apply across Threads and Instagram.

How to make LinkedIn useful again

Primary device: PC recommended

Switch to recent posts (PC and Mac)

At the top of your feed, click Sort by: Top
Change it to Recent
To make it permanent:
Go to Me
Click Settings and Privacy
Select Preferred Feed View
Choose Most recent posts
Click the left arrow to save

Reduce ad targeting (PC and Mac)

Go to Settings and Privacy
Open Advertising Data
Select Interests and Traits
Turn off categories you do not want

Aggressively train the feed (PC, Mac and phone)

On unwanted posts:

Click the three-dot menu
Select Not relevant or Not interested
Under My Network, review Followers and Following and unfollow accounts that add noise.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Social media feels overwhelming when it runs on autopilot. A few minutes of cleanup can dramatically change what you see. Algorithms respond to clarity. The clearer your signals, the better your feed becomes. You do not need to quit social media to enjoy it again. You just need to take control.

If your feed reflects your behavior, what does yours reveal about how you spend your attention right now? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

A rogue AI led to a serious security incident at Meta

Published

4 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

A rogue AI led to a serious security incident at Meta

For almost two hours last week, Meta employees had unauthorized access to company and user data thanks to an AI agent that gave an employee inaccurate technical advice, as previously reported by The Information. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said in a statement to The Verge that “no user data was mishandled” during the incident.

A Meta engineer was using an internal AI agent, which Clayton described as “similar in nature to OpenClaw within a secure development environment,” to analyze a technical question another employee posted on an internal company forum. But the agent also independently publicly replied to the question after analyzing it, without getting approval first. The reply was only meant to be shown to the employee who requested it, not posted publicly.

An employee then acted on the AI’s advice, which “provided inaccurate information” that led to a “SEV1” level security incident, the second-highest severity rating Meta uses. The incident temporarily allowed employees to access sensitive data they were not authorized to view, but the issue has since been resolved.

According to Clayton, the AI agent involved didn’t take any technical action itself, beyond posting inaccurate technical advice, something a human could have also done. A human, however, might have done further testing and made a more complete judgment call before sharing the information — and it’s not clear whether the employee who originally prompted the answer planned to post it publicly.

“The employee interacting with the system was fully aware that they were communicating with an automated bot. This was indicated by a disclaimer noted in the footer and by the employee’s own reply on that thread,” Clayton commented to The Verge. “The agent took no action aside from providing a response to a question. Had the engineer that acted on that known better, or did other checks, this would have been avoided.”

Last month, an AI agent from open source platform OpenClaw went more directly rogue at Meta when an employee asked it to sort through emails in her inbox, deleting emails without permission. The whole idea behind agents like OpenClaw is that they can take action on their own, but like any other AI model, they don’t always interpret prompts and instructions correctly or give accurate responses, a fact Meta employees have now discovered twice.

Technology

Phishing scam exploits Apple Mail ‘trusted sender’ label

Published

5 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Phishing scam exploits Apple Mail ‘trusted sender’ label

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Phishing emails are getting more convincing every day. Scammers copy the look of trusted brands and rely on urgency to get you to click before you think. But sometimes the most misleading part of a scam is not the email itself. It is the signal your own email app gives you.

A CyberGuy reader recently sent us a screenshot of an email that looked suspicious but included something surprising at the top. Apple Mail displayed a banner that said, “This message was sent from a trusted sender.” At first glance, that message feels reassuring. Many people would assume the email must be legitimate. The reader sent the screenshot with the subject line “Another sneaky trick.” In the image, Apple Mail labels the message as coming from a trusted sender even though the email itself shows several signs of a phishing scam.

Here is the catch. That label comes from Apple Mail itself, not from Apple and not from a system verifying the email. In other words, a phishing email can still appear trusted. Understanding how this happens can help you avoid handing your Apple ID or other personal information to scammers.

APPLE APP PASSWORD SCAM EMAIL WARNING

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Scammers often copy Apple’s branding and use urgent warnings to push people into clicking malicious links. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

Why Apple Mail may label a phishing email as a trusted sender

Apple Mail automatically adds the trusted sender banner in certain situations. It usually appears when the email address looks familiar to your device. For example, Apple Mail may display the banner if:

The sender’s address is saved in your Contacts
You have replied to that email address before
The address appears in previous email conversations

The feature is designed to help you quickly recognize people you communicate with often. It is meant as a convenience signal, not a security verification. That distinction is important.

Warning signs of a fake Apple account email

Phishing emails often copy the look of real Apple notifications. The goal is to create urgency so the victim clicks before thinking. The email in the screenshot contains several classic warning signs.

Generic greeting

The message begins with “Dear user” instead of addressing the recipient by name. Legitimate account emails typically reference your name or Apple ID information.

Slightly incorrect branding

The email references “Cloud+ subscription.” Apple’s real service is called iCloud+. Small branding mistakes often appear in phishing campaigns.

Urgent scare tactics

The message warns that personal data could be permanently removed from cloud storage. Fear and urgency are common tools in phishing scams.

Payment problems tied to account threats

Scammers often claim a subscription payment failed and your account is at risk. The goal is to push victims to click a link and enter login details. Apple does not send emails threatening immediate deletion of iCloud data because of a billing issue.

Why the Apple Mail trusted sender banner can be misleading

Because the banner relies on familiarity, scammers can sometimes exploit it. Cybercriminals often spoof real email addresses so their messages appear to come from someone you know. If that address matches a contact or previous message history, Apple Mail may still mark it as trusted.

REAL APPLE SUPPORT EMAILS USED IN NEW PHISHING SCAM

That can create a false sense of safety. The banner simply reflects your email history. It does not confirm the sender’s identity or verify that the message actually came from Apple or any legitimate company. In some cases, that visual signal can make a phishing email look more believable than it really is.

The “trusted sender” banner in Apple Mail reflects your contact history. It does not verify that the email actually came from Apple or another legitimate company. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Ways to stay safe from Apple phishing emails

Phishing emails continue to evolve, but a few simple habits can greatly reduce your risk.

1) Avoid clicking links in account warning emails

If you receive a notice about your Apple account, open your browser and go directly to Apple’s official website instead of using the email link.

2) Use strong antivirus software

Strong antivirus software can help detect malicious links, suspicious downloads, and phishing pages before they reach your device. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

3) Use a data removal service

Scammers often gather personal information from data broker websites to make phishing emails look more convincing. Removing your data from these sites reduces the information criminals can use to target you. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

4) Check your Apple account settings directly

You can verify subscriptions by opening Settings on your device, tapping your Apple ID and selecting Subscriptions.

5) Look closely at branding and wording

Misspelled product names, unusual formatting, and generic greetings often reveal a phishing email.

6) Enable two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds another layer of protection, even if someone manages to steal your password.

Cybercriminals frequently disguise their emails by mimicking legitimate addresses, making it look like the message was sent by someone you trust. (Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

Email apps often try to help by identifying messages that appear familiar. Unfortunately, scammers understand how those systems work. The trusted sender banner in Apple Mail reflects your contact history. It does not confirm that the message came from Apple or any legitimate company. That means one simple habit still offers the best protection. Pause before clicking any urgent account warning. Because in the world of phishing scams, the messages that look the most convincing are often the most dangerous.

If your email app told you a message was trusted, would you still double-check before clicking? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Technology

The FBI is buying Americans’ location data

Published

16 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

The FBI is buying Americans’ location data

Senate Intelligence Committee Hears Testimony From Top Officials On Worldwide Threats

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 18: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats in the Hart Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. A closed session immediately followed the hearing. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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