Instagram can be one of the most beautiful places on the internet (the time of gorgeous, visual life updates is NOW), but it can also be one of the ugliest. The ugly side of Instagram comes out in the comments section, where some users (often women) are subjected to hurtful harassment.
Until now, it's been hard to avoid this dark side of Instagram; it was just the price you had to pay for all of the wonderful things about using the app. But Instagram's latest update is set to change that in a really wonderful way. According to The Washington Post (opens in new tab), the company is rolling out a feature that will allow users to truly customize their experience by banning certain words, phrases, and even emoji from the comments on their pictures and videos, or even turning off comments all together.
The feature is being rolled out slowly, first to some "high volume comment" users (so, probably celebrities), and then, eventually, to the rest of us.
"Our goal is to make Instagram a friendly, fun and, most importantly, safe place for self-expression," Nicky Jackson Colaco, Instagram public policy chief said a statement. "We have slowly begun to offer accounts with high volume comment threads the option to moderate their comment experience. As we learn, we look forward to improving the comment experience for our broader community."
We're all for this update, which is a great step toward curbing the growing problem of online harassment.
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