Instagram launches new features to help fight online bullying

Instagram's new features will help people maintain a positive environment on their account

Instagram has announced new features that mark the continuation of their effort to lead the industry in fighting online bullying.

“First, we’re launching a new feature to help people manage multiple unwanted interactions at once. We know it can feel overwhelming to manage a rush of negative comments, so we’ve been testing the ability to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments,” wrote Instagram on its website.

This new feature is particularly helpful for people with larger followings to maintain a positive environment on their account.



To enable this feature on iOS, tap on a comment and then the dotted icon in the top right corner. Select ‘Manage Comments’ and choose up to 25 comments to delete at once.

Tap ‘More Options’ to block or restrict accounts in bulk. To block or restrict accounts on Android, press and hold on a comment, tap the dotted icon, and select ‘Block’ or ‘Restrict’.

Highlighting positive comments

PHOTO: Instagram

In addition to this, the company is also testing a Pinned Comments feature that allows people to set the tone of their account and the audience they engage with by pinning a select number of comments to the top of their comments thread.

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Choosing who can tag and mention you

PHOTO: Instagram

Further, the company noted that tags and mentions can be used to target or bully others; to combat this Instagram is rolling out new controls that allow you to manage who can tag or mention you on a post.

You can choose whether you want everyone, only people you follow or no one to be able to tag or mention you in a comment, caption, or Story.