Instagram is among the most popular social media platforms worldwide with over a billion active users. The photo-video-sharing app owned by Facebook promotes a user-friendly behaviour but has seen cases of bullying and harassment on its platform. Instagram has released a number of tools and resources to ensure the safety and security of users on its platform. From advanced account security to comment tools, here are some of the top tips and tricks on Instagram to keep your account safe.
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Private Account: Switching to a private account allows you to control who sees your content. With a private account, you can also remove followers without blocking them. Here is how you can make your account private.
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Filter Comments: On Instagram, you can filter comments based on chosen keywords or default keywords identified. If you see a comment you don’t want on your post, you can delete it by swiping left and tapping the trash icon. Users can also pin any positive comment on their posts. This allows to amplify and encourage positive interactions.
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Comment Warning: Instagram expanded comment warning to include an additional warning when people repeatedly attempt to post potentially offensive comments. In less than a year since launching globally, the company claims to have seen a decrease in negative interactions in comments and captions.
Delete comments in bulk: Instagram also enables users to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments. To delete comments in bulk on Instagram, tap on the three dots icon located on the top right corner of the comments section and tap on manage comments. You can then tap on the number of comments that you wish to remove.
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Choosing who can tag and mention you: Tags and mentions can be used to target or bully others, therefore Instagram has launched new controls that allow you to manage who can tag or mention you. You can choose whether you want everyone, only people you follow or no one to be able to tag or mention you in a comment, caption or Story.
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Block anyone you don’t want to see your posts: Even if you don’t have a private account, you can still control who can find and follow you on Instagram by using the blocking tool. To block an account, navigate to that account’s profile, open the “…” menu in the upper right corner and tap “Block User.”
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Restrict: You can restrict someone 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 Restrict is enabled, comments on your posts from the 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.
Strengthening Messaging Privacy: Instagram is also taking steps to help you control who can send you direct messages on Instagram. This gives you the ability to allow only people you follow to message and add you to group threads. People who enable this setting will no longer receive messages, group message requests or story replies from anyone they have not chosen to follow.
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Report any abuse, bullying, harassment or impersonation: If you see something questionable or a post you believe violates Instagram's guidelines, report it. To report a comment, swipe to the left and tap the arrow. To report a specific post or an account, tap the “…” menu and then “Report.”
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Two factor authentication: Add an extra layer of security by enabling two-factor authentication. This requires an SMS security code when you log in from an unknown device.
