If you've ever felt compelled to scroll through the comments section of an Instagram post, chances are you've seen something unsavoury written there.
A new feature for Instagram is in the works with the express aim of cracking down on bullying and harassment on the social media app by automatically hiding negative messages.
The comments that the algorithm deem to be nasty or hurtful, and, therefore, go against the app's policies, won't be shown on any posts unless you click the 'view hidden comments' option.
Not only will it hide negative comments, the app will now try and encourage those who are writing these types of comments to consider what they're saying to others.
If you type something out which is deemed harmful, you will be slapped with a notice stating: "This may go against our guidelines".
The app previously rolled out its Restrict update in October last year, enabling users to hide abusive content. But the latest feature will do so automatically.
In a blog post, the company explained that more than 35 million Instagram accounts are using or have used Restrict since it launched, allowing people to safely control their Instagram experience.
It stated: “Since launching comment warning, we saw that reminding people of the consequences of bullying on Instagram and providing real-time feedback as they are writing the comment is the most effective way to shift behaviour.
Explaining the latest move, the company wrote: “These new warnings let people take a moment to step back and reflect on their words and lay out the potential consequences should they proceed. We just started testing this feature in select languages”.
At the moment, it is unclear exactly what type of comments will be automatically hidden, or if users breaking the policy will be penalised.
