As Instagram celebrates 800 million people in its community, it is committing to keep Instagram a safe and positive place for self-expression. It is therefore introducing new tools and programs to back this commitment.
CEO Kevin Systrom shared the new tools and programs in a recent blog post:
Comment Controls
Starting today, if your account is public, you’ll see a new way to choose who can comment on your posts — from everyone to just groups of people, like people you follow or your followers. Also, whether your account is public or private, you’ll be able to block other accounts from commenting on your posts. In June, Instagram launched a filter to block certain offensive comments in English, today it is expanding this filter to Arabic, French, German and Portuguese. The filter will improve over time, enabling the community’s experience of sharing to improve as well.
Anonymous Reporting for Live Video
Instagram is continuing to provide mental health resources to you when you need them most. If you see someone going through a difficult time or in need of support during a live broadcast, you can report it anonymously. The person will see a message offering help with options to talk to a helpline, reach out to a friend or get other tips and support. We have teams working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, around the world to respond.
Kindness Walls and Stickers
Over the next few months, Instagram will be turning walls in cities around the world into colorful murals inspiring #KindComments. Visit a wall, take a photo or video and share a #KindComments to make someone’s day. You can also participate by using a new kindness-themed heart-shaped sticker. Both the murals and stickers are created by artists from the global community.
In a related development, the Facebook-owned social media company also announced that its business community has grown to two million advertisers, up from one million advertisers back in March.
It also announced that time spent watching video on Instagram was up more than 80% year over year, while the number of videos produced per day had increased by 4X from last year.
