Instagram Users Can Now Turn Off Comments, Dismiss Private Followers

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles

As Instagram goes toe-to-toe with Snapchat, the Facebook Inc.-owned social network also continues to fight harassment. On Tuesday, Kevin Systrom, Instagram's co-founder and CEO, announced two new safety features that will reach users in the next few weeks: The ability to turn off comments for individual posts and to remove followers from private accounts.

Soon, users will see an option to "turn off commenting" while uploading each new post. For existing posts, you'll be able to turn off comments with a menu button. If you turn comments back on, the earlier comments will reappear, and people will be able to leave new comments.

Comments have been an area of focus for Instagram since September, when the social network introduced a comment moderation tool that automatically hid offensive comments from showing up on their posts if they contained any words specified on a user-created block list.

Turning off comments is a more drastic measure, but one already used by many media websites when discussions get out of hand. In a statement, Mr. Systrom gave the anti-harassment measure a positive spin: "Sometimes there may be moments when you want to let your post stand on its own."

Instagram users will also now be able to show support by liking comments. Throwing the heart icons into discussions "encourages positivity throughout the community," said Mr. Systrom.

If your Instagram account is set to public, other users can see the photos and videos you share. If it's private, they have to send you a request before being able to check out your posts. But once a follower was accepted, the only way to boot that person off your feed was to block them, which would let them know they've been removed and could no longer follow you.

In the next few weeks, private account holders will be able to remove followers without having to confront the evicted parties. The new option, which will show up in a menu button next to each follower's name, is more subtle, and is intended to reduce the risk of retaliation.

The new safety features follow the addition of anonymous self-harm reporting, which exists partly as a suicide prevention tool, announced in October. Instagram hasn't offered any data on how rampant abuse is on its network, but Twitte r and its subsidiary Periscope, as well as Instagram-parent Facebook, continue to roll out incremental improvements to combat harassment in an increasingly volatile time across social media.

With Tuesday's introduction, Mr. Systrom noted, "These updates still mark the beginning."

Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 06, 2016 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)

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