Instagram is probably the number one photo sharing app in the world right now, but even then, doesn’t give you much control in terms of the management of your followers – especially the comments you receive.
Apart from the arbitrary deletion of comments, once you go private on your account, Instagram actually makes it harder for you to manage your followers, other than the option to outright block them should you not want them peering into your life.
Instagram’s Making Their World A Safer Place
As of today, you may have probably be notified of an update for your Instagram app on your App or Play stores.
The update looks like any usual incremental feature, merely saying introducing the arrival of disappearing photos and videos for direct messages, and the impending Live Stories feature.
But underneath it all lies a more important, and much awaited addition to the usability of the app that many have been clamouring for.
In line with their “commitment to keeping Instagram a positive place for self-expression” Instagram has previously rolled out the option to filter comments based on keywords.
Well, today, they are letting you turn off comments completely, for all the times when you don’t want chatter on a photo you posted.
A bit extreme, but in a world of mean comments and cyber-bullying, it this sometimes has to be done – just look at Youtube.
It’s not all doom and gloom though – Instagram now lets you ‘love’ (❤) comments, all in the name of promoting the spirit of positivity.
For the times when you come across a person of worry, Instagram has a helpline ready. Now you don’t have to use the report button, instead, Instagram has a new support option where you can flag an account anonymously to get someone you know the help they need.
Lastly for good measure, Instagram now lets you remove followers from your private accounts without actually blocking them, something which you couldn’t do before.
Blurring The Lines
Instagram is owned by Facebook, and has always been a whole separate product – that is until recently.
First came the option to convert into a business account, and with it came the analytics feature called ‘Insights’ as a means to monitor posts, engagement, and followers.
While you cannot outright prevent people from commenting on your Facebook posts, now both platforms allow you to ‘love’ (❤) a comment.
Photos now seem to have taken a backseat in favour of overall engagement.
None more so is this more obvious than when Instagram introduced Stories, which bears a striking similarity to Snapchat.
The days where Instagram is just a photo sharing app is long gone, and from here on, it will be all about getting the dollars in with all these new features and content formats.
