“We feel as strongly about creating a safe and welcoming environment today as we did when our community was just getting started. Today, we’re announcing new tools and programs to keep Instagram a safe and positive place for self-expression,” Instagram stated.
Comment Controls
Comments are an integral part of the social media experience as it gives a platform for your followers to voice their thoughts on your post. But if you’re not looking for comments from certain kinds of people, you can block them. Now, Instagram has rolled out new ways to control who can and cannot comment on your posts. Users with a public account will now see the ‘Allow Comments From’ option under ‘Comment Controls’. Users can choose to either allow ‘People you follow’ or ‘Your followers’ or both of them to comment on your. If you want to keep commenting open to everyone regardless, choose ‘Everyone’. Users also have the ability to block certain profiles individually from commenting on your posts.
Filter to Block Offensive Comments
Earlier this year in June, Instagram had launched a filter which blocks out comments containing offensive language but its functionality was limited to English. Now the same filter is available in four additional languages — Arabic, French, German and Portuguese.
Anonymous Reporting in Live Video
Anonymous reporting during a Live video is another tool that has been made available for users to anonymously report ‘someone going through a difficult time or in need of support during a live broadcast’. Following the report, the person will see a message offering them help during the live broadcast. The options include to ‘talk with a helpline volunteer’, ‘get tips and support’ and ‘talk with a friend’. While I don’t doubt Instagram’s intentions with this feature, it might lead to more spam rather act of ‘anonymous kindness’ and it would be helpful if the company has plans on how to avoid spam using this tool.
Kindness Walls and Stickers
Instagram is also adding murals and stickers with a kindness-inspired theme created by artists from around the globe. “Over the next few months, we’re turning walls in cities around the world into colorful murals inspiring #KindComments. Visit a wall, take a photo or video and share a #KindComments to make someone’s day. You can also participate by using a new kindness-themed heart-shaped sticker,” the blog post reads. Last week, Instagram updated their app with a new snazzy feature, which allows users to use face filters while sharing a live video.
