Instead, they’re merely hidden from public view: if you later disable filtering, or the specific keyword in question, the comments will be visible again.
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The new filtering tool will be switched on for all Instagram accounts on Monday, according to an Instagram spokesperson.
“To empower each individual, we need to promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment”, Systrom said on the Instagram blog. After you have entered the words, Instagram will automatically hide comments that contain these words from your posts. You can use this feature to add words that you want filtered out of the comments on your photos.
The feature lets anyone create a personalized list of words you consider offensive or inappropriate-whether it’s racial slurs, obscenity, or just “Justin Bieber”. The company says it will provide a “default list of words” to choose from if needed, but you could probably make a compelling argument that some words could be banned from comments altogether – if you’ve ever spent time on an internet messaging board, you can probably guess the types of words I’m referring to.
Because some users can remain largely anonymous, social media services including Instagram and Twitter appear more prone to abusive or inappropriate comments.
The custom keyword filter can accept words, phrases, numbers, hashtags, and emojis.
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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. This is in addition to the tools we’ve already developed such as swiping to delete comments, reporting inappropriate comments and blocking accounts.
