Instagram will take off all augmented reality (AR) filters that show or promote cosmetic surgery. There are concerns that these filters have pernicious effects on people’s mental wellbeing.
Among the filters that will be banned are those that make people look like they have had lip injections, fillers or a facelift.
Research suggests face-changing filters can make people feel worse about the way they look.
According to Instagram, the move was about promoting wellbeing.
A spokesman said, “We’re re-evaluating our policies, we want our filters to be a positive experience for people.
“While we’re re-evaluating our policies, we will remove all effects from the ‘effects’ gallery associated with plastic surgery, stop further approval of new effects like this and remove current effects if they’re reported to us.”
Two months ago, Instagram introduced an update to the Instagram app that allows users to create their own virtual effects, such as animations and custom face filters that can be superimposed on images and videos.
Many popular filters – such as Plastica – mimicked the effects of extreme cosmetic surgery.
Another filter – FixMe – showed how a cosmetic surgeon marked a person’s face before procedures.
FixMe creator, Daniel Mooney said, “FixMe was only ever supposed to be a critique of plastic surgery, showing how unglamorous the process is with the markings and bruising.
“My intention was not to show a ‘perfect’ image, as you can see in the final result. Perfection is over-rated.
“I can see where Instagram is coming from, but for as long as some of the most-followed accounts on Instagram are of heavily surgically ‘improved’ people, removing surgery filters won’t really change that much.”
Instagram, however, acknowledges it was unsure how long it would take to remove all of the filters but many users welcomed the ban.
One user said on Twitter, “Most people just pass filters off as ‘girls having fun’ and to just let girls enjoy things – but when you haven’t posted a photo without one of these filters since 2016, then it clearly is something deeper than just ‘fun”
However, some users said they would miss the effects.
Another user tweeted, “Has Instagram also considered me and what I’m supposed to do when I’m having a day where I look more clapped than normal? Old haggard witches need to look stunning too.”
Research results have shown that excessive use of social media can lead to depression, a claim refuted in some quarters.