People say some pretty nasty things on social media. But Instagram wants its users to be able to share and enjoy its video and photo sharing community without worrying about all the Nasty Nellies out there.
The Facebook-owned company said Monday it’s rolling out a new tool that will allow people to filter out offensive language from comments on their posts. It’s an extension of a capability first offered to businesses and celebrities a few months ago. Now all of the more than 500 million Instagram users throughout the world will have access to the capability.
Users can either enable a filter that will automatically block a default list of words to hide them from Instagram comments, or users can customize the keyword list.
“The beauty of the Instagram community is the diversity of its members,” Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom said in a blog post. “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.”
Systrom said that it’s his company’s responsibility to “promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment.”
This article originally appeared on CNET.com as “Instagram allows users to block nasty comments”
Nasty comments on Instagram may have met their match
By Marguerite Reardon
/ CNET
People say some pretty nasty things on social media. But Instagram wants its users to be able to share and enjoy its video and photo sharing community without worrying about all the Nasty Nellies out there.
The Facebook-owned company said Monday it’s rolling out a new tool that will allow people to filter out offensive language from comments on their posts. It’s an extension of a capability first offered to businesses and celebrities a few months ago. Now all of the more than 500 million Instagram users throughout the world will have access to the capability.
Users can either enable a filter that will automatically block a default list of words to hide them from Instagram comments, or users can customize the keyword list.
“The beauty of the Instagram community is the diversity of its members,” Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom said in a blog post. “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.”
Systrom said that it’s his company’s responsibility to “promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment.”
This article originally appeared on CNET.com as “Instagram allows users to block nasty comments”
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