Instagram makes sliding into DMs difficult for trolls
Trolling on Instagram is about to get very difficult. The Meta-owned platform has introduced a suite of features that will make it tough for trollers to slide into Direct Messages. Users will now be able to block all the existing accounts of an abusive person. This update is part of the company's effort to tackle hate speech and online abuse.
Users can now block all existing accounts of trollers
Instagram has improved its blocking system. When you block a user now, you will also have the option to block other accounts of theirs. This will make it difficult for trolls to interact with you from other accounts. This is in addition to the feature launched last year which enabled the blocking of any new account created by trollers.
Why does this story matter?
Cyberbullying and trolling are prevalent on Instagram. The platform has been making some serious efforts to tackle this issue. The new measures introduced by Instagram to tackle this are more comprehensive than before. This time, the company has also given importance to protecting one of the most vulnerable sections to trolling - creators. We will see what effects they will have on online trolls.
Hidden Words has been improved to provide more protection
Instagram has upgraded its Hidden Words system which filters message requests and comments with offensive words, emojis, and phrases. The improvement is aimed specifically at Creator accounts. The company has started to test turning on Hidden Words automatically for Creator accounts. Users will be also able to create a list of words, phrases, and emojis they want to hide.
4 million more accounts blocked every week automatically: Instagram
"Based on initial test results from this new change, we expect our community will need to block 4 million fewer accounts every week, since these accounts will now be blocked automatically," said Instagram about the improvement in blocking.
Intentional misspellings of offensive terms will be flagged now
Instagram has expanded Hidden Words' filtering to intentional misspellings of offensive words and Story replies. Offensive replies to Stories will now go to the Hidden requests folder. The feature also supports new languages now, including Farsi, Turkish, Russian, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil. Instagram plans to extend the filtering to Scams and Spam in the near future.
Instagram will ask users to be kind and supportive
Instagram will now nudge users before they reply to an offensive comment. Users will get a notification encouraging them to pause and consider how they want to reply to the comment. The platform has also introduced kindness reminders. This is specifically aimed at creators. When people decide to slide into the DMs of creators, Instagram will show a message to be kind and supportive.
