According to SimilarWeb, Instagram is the 5th most visited site globally, with over 6 billion monthly visits! The platform has all kinds of content, including sexually suggestive or violent posts, reels, etc. Some people may have no problem seeing them, but others, like me, may not find them appropriate.
To help such users, Instagram has rolled out a new feature called Sensitive Content Control. This lets you decide how much sensitive content shows up in your Instagram Explore tab. If you are wondering how to use this feature, follow along.
What is Sensitive Content on Instagram?
Instagram explicitly claims that they do not allow hate speech, bullying, and other content that might present a risk of harm to people. But this does not mean all content on Instagram is friendly for all.
You can think of sensitive content as posts that don’t necessarily break our rules but could potentially be upsetting to some people – such as posts that may be sexually suggestive or violent.
Background
On 21st July 2021, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, via an Insta post, shared that:
The photos and videos to see in the Explore tab are there not because you follow the account that posted them, but rather because we think you might be interested in them. Given that we feel we have a responsibility to be careful not to recommend anything that might be sensitive. We have a responsibility to do what we can to keep people safe, but we’d like the balance that with more transparency and more choice.
So we built a “Sensitive Content Control,” which allows you to decide how much you’d like us to try and filter out types of content like sexually suggestive, firearms, and drug-related content.
Thanks to the Sensitive Content Control switch, now you have new controls for limiting sensitive content on your iPhone and Android device. In short, you have more choice for what you wish to see. Let me show you how to use this thoughtful feature.
How to enable sensitive content filter on Instagram post
Note: Below steps are applicable on both Android and iPhone.
- Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
- Tap the hamburger icon at the top right.
- Tap Settings → Account.
- Now, tap Sensitive Content Control.
- From here, you may tap Allow to see more sensitive content. Or, tap Limit Even More.
Note: If you find Instagram Sensitive Content Control missing in your account settings, update the Instagram app from the App Store. Next, restart your iPhone.
This is how you can turn on and use the sensitive content filter in Instagram. I hope this short guide was helpful. If you have any additional questions, please ask via the comments section below.
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