Taylor Swift actually had a lot to do with cleaning up Instagram

No more snake emoji for Taylor.
 By 
Kerry Flynn
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Lose celebrities on Instagram and risk the entire platform collapsing. That's something Kevin Systrom, CEO and cofounder of Instagram, realized last year—it inspired him to transform his app into a more "safe and inclusive" community, according to a new profile in Wired.

Instagram's first test case: Taylor Swift and her snakes.

The pop singer, an active Instagram user who would frequently post photos of herself and her squad, was being harassed on the platform.

In the summer of 2016, after her public fallouts with Calvin Harris, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian, the comments below her posts "were followed almost entirely by snake emoji: snakes piled on snakes, snakes arranged numerically, snakes alternating with pigs," the Wired piece reads.

Instagram took action. Now, you'll most likely just see praise on praise on praise.

🌟🎉🍾🎂

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on

The platform had "quietly built a filter that would automatically delete specific words and emoji from users’ feeds." For Swift, that meant no more snake emoji.

Instagram has continued to work to make Instagram a cleaner place. Last year, users were gifted the ability to disable all comments. In June, Instagram introduced new filters that will automatically block "certain offensive comments" and spam.

And we come back to Swift. Instagram has been training its technology—a system named DeepText—with, of all things, Kanye West's rap lyrics.

"It also had trouble recognizing Kanye West lyrics," the Wired piece reads, referencing West's song Famous and the lyric: "I feel like me and Taylor still might have sex."

"It was entirely at ease, however, with more creative Kanye insults like “You left your fridge open / somebody just took a sandwich," the piece continued.

But at least the snake filter is perfect.

Mashable Image
Kerry Flynn

Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You
Spring cleaning starter kit: 12 products that'll make it easy to keep things pristine year-round
Shark StainForce cleaning wand and caddy, Dyson PencilVac, Blueland cleaning sprays, and cleaning paste on geometric background

Take cleaning floors off your to-do list thanks to this robot vacuum, now $165 off
Shark Matrix™ Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop (Refurbished)

Spring cleaning deals at Amazon's spring sale: Save on kitchen, bathroom, and laundry supplies
Cleancult dish soap refill, Seventh Generation laundry packs, and Mrs. Meyer's cleaning spray arranged on colorful backdrop

'Lucky' teaser: Anya Taylor-Joy is a con artist, and I'm already in
Anya Taylor-Joy stars in "Lucky"

Everything we know about Anya Taylor-Joy's heist series, 'Lucky'
Anya Taylor-Joy in "Lucky."

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 4, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 4, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!