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Instagram 101: Here's How to Turn Off Instagram's New Comment Filter

Jun 29, 2017 03:55 PM

Jul 1, 2017 11:05 PM

One of my favorite things about Instagram, and the reason why it's still my go-to app, is the fact that it's not like Facebook or YouTube. After our last presidential election, well, I think we've all been scarred from going anywhere near Facebook. And YouTube, I'm not sure why comments on that platform are some of the worst, but they are.

That politically-fueled social media giant with a capital F may own our beloved photo app, but if the two were about to battle it out in one serious Epic App Battle ... Instagram's just got more flavor. (That's my opinion, of course. If you disagree, then battle it out in the comments below!)

Now that Stories and live video are taking off on IG, shall we start to see more YouTubian-esque comments full of gibberish? Not according to Instagram. The app is getting an update to filter offensive comments.

So, what exactly is an offensive comment? That's up for judgment. If Instagram designates your comment as "toxic," then it will be blocked. You'll still be able to report, delete, or turn off commenting on your posts, if you so choose, but filtering through offensive comments is not your job anymore. Instagram's got a new bot to do it all for you:

Powered by machine learning, today's filters are our latest tools to keep Instagram a safe place. Our team has been training our systems for some time to recognize certain types of offensive and spammy comments so you never have to see them.

Spam is also on the attack. At the moment, Instagram is putting in place a spam filter that can recognize and remove spam written in nine different languages — English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, German, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.

So no more clothing reps trying to get you to buy into becoming a brand ambassador? Maybe (hopefully) so. The current algorithm to remove spam and offensive comments is just beginning. The company plans to keep on improving its filters to recognize more languages and maintain a kinder IG community overall.

On the other hand, if you are concerned about Instagram filtering out comments, then don't worry, it's not mandatory! You can turn this filter off. Just go to your profile page and tap on the ellipsis (Android) or cog (iOS) at the top to access your Options menu, then scroll down and tap on "Comments."

From here, you can turn off the automatic "Hide Offensive Comments" filter. You can also enable a "Manual Filter" which hides specific words or phrases that you designate as offensive.

Instagram's new comment update coming June 29.

Instagram 10.27 with the current comment tools.

Instagram's new comment update coming June 29.

Instagram 10.27 with the current comment tools.

The new update with the two filters should be available to everyone by the end of June 29, so make sure to update your Instagram app if you don't yet see the updated section above.

Follow me on Instagram @b3t.tina to see how I'm currently using Gadget Hacks' Instagram 101 tricks on my own profile page.