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Keeping comments safe on Instagram

13 Sep 2016

When they first created Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger wanted it to be a welcoming community where people could share their lives. Images have the ability to inspire and bring out the best in people, whether they are funny, sad or beautiful.

Over the past five years, the founders watched in wonder as this community has grown to 500 million, with stories from every corner of the world. With this growth, they seek to maintain what has kept Instagram positive and safe, especially in the comments on users' photos and videos.

The beauty of the Instagram community is the diversity of its members. All different types of people from diverse backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and more use Instagram, but sometimes the comments on their posts can be unkind. To empower each individual, the founders, along with the company, aim to promote a culture where everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment. Therefore, a new feature has been added to ensure that Instagram remains a positive place for users to express themselves.

New feature

The latest feature the company has introduced is a keyword moderation tool that anyone can use. Now, when users tap the gear icon on their profile, they'll find a new Comments tool. This feature lets users list words they consider offensive or inappropriate. Comments with these words will be hidden from the users' posts. Users can choose their own list of words or use default words Instagram has provided. This is in addition to the tools Instagram already developed such as swiping to delete comments, reporting inappropriate comments and blocking accounts.

While tools aren't the only solution for this complex problem, the founders believe that through cooperation, Instagram can be kept a safe place for self-expression.