Instagram announced on May 1, 2018, that they will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in the Instagram community. I learned about this when my phone notified me that there was an Instagram update.
Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in the Instagram community. To be clear: we don’t tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I’m proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.
In the blog post about Instagram’s decision to filter bullying comments, Instagram points out their offensive content filter (which was announced last year.) That filter automatically hides toxic and divisive comments, particularly those aimed at at-risk groups.
The new bullying comments filter hides comments containing attacks on a person’s appearance or character, as well as threats to a person’s well-being or health. The bullying filter is on for the Instagram global community. Those who don’t want to use the bullying comments filter can disable it in the Comment Controls center in the Instagram app.
The bullying comments filter will also alert Instagram to repeated problems so they can take action. In addition, Instagram is expanding their policies to guard against bullying young public figures on their platform. In the blog post, Instagram states “Protecting our youngest community members is crucial to helping them feel comfortable to express who they are and what they care about.”