In a recent update, Instagram is broadening a feature that blocks out sensitive content.
Previously limited to the app’s Explore page, Instagram can now help users to monitor the content they view across the entire platform.
How to update these Instagram settings
- Navigate to your profile
- In the top right corner, tap the ‘Settings’ menu
- Select ‘Account’
- Select ‘Sensitive Content Control’
What is considered ‘sensitive’ content?
According to Instagram themselves, sensitive content is defined as “posts that don’t necessarily break our rules, but could potentially be upsetting to some people.”
They label this as content that goes against the Community Guidelines and specifically include:
Content that impedes our ability to foster a safe community, such as:
- Content that may depict violence, such as people fighting. (We remove graphically violent content.)
- Content that may be sexually explicit or suggestive, such as pictures of people in see-through clothing. (We remove content that contains adult nudity or sexual activity.)
- Content that promotes the use of certain regulated products, such as tobacco or vaping products, adult products and services, or pharmaceutical drugs. (We remove content that attempts to sell or trade most regulated goods.)
- Content that may promote or depict cosmetic procedures.
- Content that may be attempting to sell products or services based on health-related claims, such as promoting a supplement to help a person lose weight.
How can this negatively impact a creator/brand?
If you publish content that Instagram considers as sensitive, your posts’ reach may be reduced in the case that a large number of people use Sensitive Content Control.
Moreover, there are 3 options for managing sensitive content on Instagram.
The options are as follows:
- Standard: This is the default state, which limits some content
- More: Allows users to opt-in to more sensitive content
- Less: Restricts sensitive content to a greater extent
This has however, been a great shift towards reducing negativity online and especially monitoring harmful content for young users, who are the primary consumers of social media platforms today.
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