Algorithm overview
Last updated June 19, 2026 · how Shutr’s algorithms work today
Shutr is built for photos from your life and the accounts you choose to follow, not viral discovery or endless scrolling. We're not against AI — Shutr is simply a place to share photos from your life. Our algorithms are intentionally simple and transparent. This page describes what each one does.
Feed algorithm
- Shows posts from you and people you follow (accepted follows).
- Sorted newest first — no secret engagement score on the main timeline.
- Your own posts can appear while pending review; posts from people you follow must be approved.
- When guest browse is enabled, logged-out visitors see approved public posts, also newest first. Production sites can turn guest browse off so only members see content.
Explore algorithm
Separate from your feed. Posts are ordered by total likes, then recency. Trending hashtags are based on recent use. Explore is for browsing, not your private home timeline.
Suggestion algorithm (sidebar)
When you’re logged in, the feed sidebar may suggest people you don’t follow yet. Suggestions are merged from:
- Mutual follows — people followed by people you follow, ranked by how many mutual connections you share.
- Active photographers — accounts that posted in the last 30 days, favoring recent activity.
- Popular photographers — accounts with the most likes across their posts.
Duplicates are removed. Blocked accounts are excluded. Following someone does not change how your feed is sorted.
Captures algorithm
- Capture rings show you first, then people you follow with active captures (24-hour expiry).
- Order among them: most recent capture first.
- Muted or blocked accounts are hidden from your captures bar.
Feed control algorithm (private)
From a post menu or profile, you can tune how much you see from someone. Other people are not told when you use these:
- See a little less / See less / See much less — their posts stay in your feed but sort lower (pushed down by about 1, 3, or 7 days).
- Mute — hide their posts and captures from your feed; you still follow them.
- Unfollow & block — unfollow, hide content, and remove them from suggestions.
Notifications
- Activity — likes on your comments, capture replies, and messages.
- Messages — unread inbox threads (DMs and capture conversations).
What our algorithms don’t do
- No “for you” mixed feed or machine-learning algorithm on the home timeline.
- No paid boost or promoted posts in the home feed.
- No selling your data for ad targeting (this may change if the product does — we’ll update this page).
Changes
If we change any algorithm, we’ll update this page and the date above.