Instagram is undoubtedly one of the most widely used photo sharing services in the world. Over the past five years, this service has grown from being just another startup to being acquired by Facebook and growing up to host a community that’s 500 million strong. Naturally, when you’re running a service as big as Instagram, abuse becomes a problem. Instagram today launched a new feature for users which enables them to filter abusive words out of comments on their pictures.
Kevin Systrom, co-founder and CEO of Instagram, wrote in a blog post that the company is working to create a culture where users feel safe to be themselves without harassment. This is why Instagram is taking this step to make sure that the service remains a positive place for people to express themselves.
Instagram’s keyword moderation tool is now available to all users. Tap the gear icon on your profile and you’ll see the new Comments tool. It lets you list all of the words that you find inappropriate or offensive. After you have entered the words, Instagram will automatically hide comments that contain these words from your posts.
The company provides a list of default words that many might find offensive or abusive so you can either choose to use that or add your own. The idea here is simple. Tell Instagram what words you don’t want to see in comments on your posts and it will make sure that you don’t have to see them.
Systrom acknowledges that while these tools aren’t the only solution for the complex problem of online abuse, nevertheless, it’s a positive step towards making sure that Instagram remains a positive place for all users.
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