Instagram will soon censor sensitive content in your feed
Instagram just announced a major change to how it deals with posts that contain sensitive content.
The app will soon begin to blur out photos and videos that have been deemed "sensitive." Users will still be able to view the images but will need to take the additional step of tapping on the post in order to see them.
It's not clear what types of "sensitive" content will earn your post the new treatment. It doesn't sound like the company is changing any of its policies but rather hoping to use the new "sensitive" filter as a kind of compromise when some users find something offensive even if it doesn't violate Instagram's guidelines.
"While these posts don’t violate our guidelines, someone in the community has reported them and our review team has confirmed they are sensitive," Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post announcing the change. "This change means you are less likely to have surprising or unwanted experiences in the app."
Instagram has long struggled with how to deal with this issue, particularly when it comes to nudity. The app has come under fire a number of times over the years for removing photos some users found offensive, even though they didn't actually violate the app's guidelines.
An account called genderless nipples went viral earlier this year, highlighting the app's complicated history with female nudity. Instagram has also come under fire in the past for removing photos of women with period stains on their pants, "butt selfies" and illustrations that depicted nudity.
Systrom also revealed that Instagram is finally, finally, finally opening up two-factor authentication to everyone. The app first introduced the feature more than a year ago, but hadn't opened it up more broadly until now, for some reason.
You can (and really, really, should) turn on two-factor authentication in the app's settings.
Finally, as part of the ongoing effort to make Instagram "a safer, kinder community," the company is organizing a series of "InstaMeets," global meetups for Instagram users to meet in real life.
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
