Instagram introduces new ways to protect people from abuse

Instagram is taking another step forward to fight hate speech and abuse. The latest way to do so is in the form of new tools, which will help you stay protected from abusive direct messages.

This will also help you stay away from blocked people if they try to contact you through a different account. Here’s how all this works and what it is all about.

Instagram’s new ways to tackle abuse

Instagram will now filter out abusive and offensive messages found in the DM section with the help of a new tool. The tool will sort offensive words, phrases, and emojis in DM Requests so that they don’t reach you.

For this, the photo-sharing app has worked with leading anti-discrimination and anti-bullying organizations to come up with a list of offensive words. You can also create your own list so that the tool can protect you from the terms that are deemed offensive by you.

The tool can be enabled via the Privacy Settings under the dedicated section called Hidden Words. This works much like comments on Instagram are filtered out.

Once you have switched on the feature, the offensive messages will be filtered out only to be kept in a hidden folder. If you wish to access the messages, you can tap on Hidden Requests to possibly delete them. The messages will be masked so that you don’t have to see them. Although, you can uncover them to go read, delete, report, or accept them.

The feature will keep in mind people’s privacy and won’t share the messages with the Instagram servers. It will be available for all in the coming weeks.

Additionally, there is an option for you to totally end communications with people you block. If you block someone, you can choose to block any of the future accounts they may create. The new feature, which will arrive in the coming weeks, is a part of the app’s harassment policies that refrain people from repeatedly contacting someone.

Instagram plans to soon hide misspellings of derogatory words in comments to keep you away from them. This is in addition to the ability to stop comments from people you don’t follow if your account is public.