The company recently confirmed it was testing the new anti-harassment tool, Limits, which Instagram head Adam Mosseri referenced in a video update shared with the Instagram community last month. The feature aims to give Instagram users an easy way to temporarily lock down their accounts when they’re targeted with a flood of harassment.
Such addition could have been useful to combat the recent racist attacks that took place on Instagram following the Euro 2020 final, which saw several England footballers viciously harassed by angry fans after the team’s defeat. The incidents, which had included racist comments and emojis, raised awareness of how little Instagram users could do to protect themselves when they’ve gone viral in a negative way.
Instagram today is rolling out a set of new features aimed at helping people protect their accounts from abuse, including offensive and unwanted comments and messages.
The company will introduce tools for filtering abusive direct message (DM) requests as well as a way for users to limit other people from posting comments or sending DMs during spikes of increased attention like when going viral. In addition, those who attempt to harass others on the service will also see stronger warnings against doing so, which detail the potential consequences.
The company recently confirmed it was testing the new anti-harassment tool, Limits, which Instagram head Adam Mosseri referenced in a video update shared with the Instagram community last month. The feature aims to give Instagram users an easy way to temporarily lock down their accounts when they’re targeted with a flood of harassment.
Such addition could have been useful to combat the recent racist attacks that took place on Instagram following the Euro 2020 final, which saw several England footballers viciously harassed by angry fans after the team’s defeat. The incidents, which had included racist comments and emojis, raised awareness of how little Instagram users could do to protect themselves when they’ve gone viral in a negative way.
