Ever wondered why your Insta-selfie didn’t get as many likes as you thought? Maybe you didn’t upload it at primetime (which everyone knows its after 9PM, when the kiddies go to bed)? Or maybe you chose the wrong filter? Now thanks to a team of MIT scientists the guessing game is over and you can save your dignity and embarrassment.

The researchers have come up with an algorithm that predicts the popularity of your photo on a scale of 0 to 10. By comparing the photo against 2.3 million images on Flickr, they are able to conclude how well-reserved you selfie will be. Factoring in colours, the number of objects in the image, textures and gradients, the algorithm also looks positive and negative impacts; meaning hitch up that skirt and lower that collar.

Upload your selfie to their website to see how it weighs up, and remember only upload after 9.

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