Photo sharing app Instagram has rolled out a new ‘Restrict’ feature to protect your account from unwanted interactions. Instagram says, ‘Restrict’ is designed to empower its users globally to quietly protect their account while still keeping an eye on a bully.
If you want to restrict someone you can do it by swiping left on a comment, through the Privacy tab in Settings, or directly on the profile of the account you intend to restrict. Once you have enabled comments on your posts from a person you have restricted will only be visible to that person. You can choose to view the comment by tapping ‘See Comment;’ approve the comment so everyone can see it; delete it; or ignore it. You won’t receive any notifications for comments from a restricted account.
Direct messages received from a restricted account will automatically be moved to Message Request, and you will not receive notifications. However, you can still view the messages but the restricted user will not be able to acknowledge when you’ve read their direct messages or when you are active on Instagram. You can choose to ‘Unrestrict’ the account and future messages will go directly to your inbox.
For National Bullying Prevention Month, Instagram has also partnered with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Centre, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Brazilian community illustrator @leonatsume to bring to life poster ideas developed during our Teen Bullying Prevention Design Workshop this year. These posters will be distributed to thousands of schools and community centres across the US. And in the next few weeks, Instagram will roll out a global anti-bullying sticker in Stories, inspired by these designs to support anti-bullying initiatives around the world.
