The fight against online hate is one of the biggest challenges facing social networks today. Instagram has taken a new step in this fight with the automatic filtering of private messages. Texts containing unwanted words are no longer it will be hidden automatically.
This new feature is available in seven countries, including France. If you don’t have it yet, you’ll have to wait for the update, which won’t take long. It will therefore allow you to filter unwanted messages that include: about ten derogatory terms. It will be possible to automatically add words to hide, just like general comments to posts.
As Instagram explained in a press release, private messages, by definition, should not be read by the network, there is a weak relationship in the fight against online hate, The focus is on public comments, so this functionality is a big advancement in that area.
Instagram lets you report offensive messages
There is indeed a lot of hate in private messages. Instagram takes football players, who are constantly insulted through this medium, as an example. If public figures are logically more exposed to malicious people, the aim is also to protect all users, regardless of who they are. Aggressive messages will be given in a separate inbox and will not be notified. The user is then free to go and view them to report them to Instagram so the network can take action.
Instagram, and by definition Facebook, are walking on eggshells in this area. With over a billion users, The social network is often singled out for being an outlet for hatred. Facebook has long allowed this to happen in the name of free expression, but lately the watchword is action, and we can only welcome it.
Note that this private message filtering feature may be available on Messenger as well as WhatsApp in the future.
Support our work ❤️
If you enjoyed this article, consider leaving a tip to help us keep publishing great content.
