In a time when social media platforms are invaded by bullies and hate-spreaders, Instagram is debuting two new tools to counter such activities on the photo-sharing service. The company announced today that it is launching a new keyword blacklist tool as well as more personalized comments to make your commenting experience… epic.
Let’s begin with the keyword blacklist tool. This tool has actually been live on Instagram for a while now. But it was specifically available for business accounts only. In fact, Taylor Swift was reportedly an early tester of this tool. Now, however, Instagram is making this service public.
The tool actually brings in two options– you can either ask Insta to automatically block a default list of words to hide from your comments or use a custom keywords list. The latter will be useful in situations where the word itself isn’t quite abusive but turns the comment into a hate-comment. It can also be used by users to prevent their commenters from talking about certain topics.
The company has been greatly active in terms of its comment moderation tools. Just a few months ago, we saw the app get swipe to delete comments, the ability to report inappropriate comments and even the ability to block user accounts.
“The beauty of the Instagram community is the diversity of its members. All different types of people — from diverse backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and more — call Instagram home, but sometimes the comments on their posts can be unkind,” writes Kevin Systrom, Instagram co-founder and CEO, on the company’s blog, explaining the need for comment moderation tools.
writes Kevin Systrom, Instagram co-founder and CEO, on the company’s blog, explaining the need for comment moderation tools.
“To empower each individual, we need to promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment. It’s not only my personal wish to do this, I believe it’s also our responsibility as a company.”
Moving on to the new filter than Instagram is going to be putting up on comments, users will now be able to decide which comments show up first on their uploads. This means, just like Facebook, relevant comments will surface above others (probably the ones from your friends) instead of just the latest two.
Both the updates are rolling out today for all Instagram users worldwide.
