Nearly half of Australians say they would switch off algorithmic recommendations on social media if given the option, according to new research from YouGov released as the Australian Government considers proposals to give users more control over curated feeds.
YouGov said 48% of respondents would turn off algorithmic recommendations, compared with 31% who would keep them switched on.
The results point to a generational divide. Gen Z respondents were more inclined to keep algorithmic recommendations enabled, with 54% saying they would keep them on, compared with 39% of Millennials.
Among Australians who would switch recommendations off, YouGov said the leading reasons were having greater control over what they see and preventing platforms from deciding which content is prioritised, each cited by 50% of those respondents. Nearly half (47% each) also said they would want to see more content from people and accounts they have chosen to follow and fewer unwanted or irrelevant posts.
YouGov said motivations differed by generation. Among Gen Z respondents who would switch recommendations off, 54% said they would do so because it would make social media less addictive. Millennials who would opt out were most likely to say they would do so to see more content from people they follow (54%).
For those who would keep algorithmic recommendations on, relevance was the most cited reason. YouGov said 48% would keep recommendations enabled to see content relevant to their interests, rising to 53% among Gen X. Other reasons included discovering content or accounts they would not have found themselves (43%), making social media more entertaining or engaging (36%), and saving time spent searching for content or managing their account (35%).
The research also suggests an opt-out could change how much time some people spend on social media. YouGov said 36% of respondents would spend less time on social media without algorithmic recommendations, rising to 55% among Gen Z. A further 12% said they would spend a lot more time without recommendations, including 16% of Gen Z.
Views were also split on whether platforms would reliably respect an opt-out. YouGov said 45% were not confident social media platforms would honour the choice over time, compared with 32% who were confident. Gen Z respondents were more positive, with 51% saying they were confident platforms would honour an opt-out.
Fumin Rianto, Research Director at YouGov Australia, said: “Our data shows that Australians have mixed feelings about algorithmic recommendations. Almost half say they would switch them off, while Gen Z are more likely than Millennials to keep them on. The reasons behind these choices reveal a tension between wanting greater control over what we see and valuing the relevance and discovery that algorithmic recommendations can provide.”
The findings are based on responses from 1,052 Australian adults collected between 14 and 16 September 2026, YouGov said.
