nstagram Announcing a series of new tools, it said it will help protect users from abuse on the platform.
At the core of the update is a new feature called “Restrictions”, which enables people to automatically hide comments and direct message requests from other users who have not followed or followed recently.
The company stated that its purpose is to stop the abuse of accounts that “pile up like a mountain at the moment”.
The Facebook-owned service has also strengthened the in-app warning it displays to those who try to post abusive behavior-warning users that if they continue to send abusive comments, their account will be deleted-and is rolling out its hidden words to everyone Filtering tool for global users, allowing people to filter out words, phrases and emojis they don’t want to see.
Instagram stated that the purpose of these tools is to give people more control while ensuring they feel safe when using the site.
The update comes amid ongoing scrutiny of social media and how it handles abuse following the racist attack on English football players Marcus Rashford Jaden Sancho and Bugadesaka After the Euro 2020 final.
The restriction feature will be rolled out to all Instagram users around the world from Wednesday, and will enable people to decide when they want to hide comments and message requests from non-followers and only started following them last week.
Instagram European Public Policy Manager Tom Gault told PA News Agency that the Limits tool was launched in response to events such as the European Cup finals in 2020, when public figures saw a sudden surge of targeted comments and news requests after the incident.
“Our own research and feedback from public figures show that a lot of negative comments on celebrities come from people who don’t follow them or follow them recently,” he said.
“This is the kind of behavior we saw after the European Cup final.”
But he added that the company also found that some public figures did not want to completely cut off comments and news because they often received a lot of news of support.
“The events that usually lead to a surge in comments also cause long-term followers to send out a lot of support messages. People still want to hear from that community,” he told PA.
“So, this is why we really think this feature will be so effective, which means you can hear the voice of returning fans, while restricting contact with people who might access your account to locate you.”
We hope that these new features will better protect people from seeing abusive content, whether it is racism, sexism, homophobia or any other type of abusive
The tool can be expanded in the future to automatically prompt users to turn on restrictions when the platform detects that users may experience a surge in comments and direct messages.
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri wrote in a blog post announcing the new feature: “We don’t allow hate speech or bullying on Instagram and will delete it if we find it.
“We also want to protect people from this abuse in the first place, which is why we continue to listen to feedback from experts and the community and develop new features to allow people to better control their experience on Instagram and help protect them from abuse .
“We hope these new features can better protect people from seeing abusive content, whether it’s racism, sexism, homophobia or any other type of abusive.
“We know there is more work to be done, including improving our system to find and remove abusive content faster, and holding publishers accountable.
“We also know that although we are committed to doing our best to fight hatred on our platform, these problems are bigger than ours.
“We will continue to invest in organizations that care about racial justice and fairness, and look forward to further cooperation with industry, government and NGOs to educate and help eradicate hatred. This work is still incomplete, and we will continue to share our progress. “
