What shows up between posts you asked for
Scroll a normal Instagram feed for more than a few posts and two kinds of unrequested content start appearing: suggested posts, content from accounts you don't follow that Instagram thinks you'll engage with, and sponsored posts, ads placed using the same ranking logic. Neither is labeled as optional. Both load automatically, mixed into the same scroll as posts from people you actually follow.
There's a small "not interested" option on individual suggested posts, and a "why am I seeing this ad" link on sponsored ones. Neither removes the category. They adjust what shows up next, not whether something does.
Why this isn't the same fix as Explore
Explore lives in its own tab, a dedicated grid you have to tap into. Suggested posts and ads are different: they're inserted directly into the main feed, the one built from accounts you follow, which means hiding Explore alone still leaves both running through the scroll you check every day.
What's left: acting on the web version
Instagram's web version carries the same suggested-post and ad insertion as the native app, which means the same web-level fix that hides Explore and Reels can also suppress both of these directly in the feed. A Safari extension strips suggested and sponsored posts out before they render, leaving the feed as just the accounts you chose to follow, in the order they posted.
Making it stick
The same handoff applies here as with every other Instagram fix: a guided iOS Shortcut sends the Instagram app icon to the web version, so the cleaned-up feed is what loads without a separate step each time.
That's DoomOff's Instagram toggle for this specifically: suggested and sponsored posts both gone from the feed, with a live preview before you turn it on.