Instagram to let users disable comments on posts

We all know things can get a little nasty over on Instagram comments.

Instagram users can now opt to “turn off commenting” before posting an image. Taking a leaf out of parent Facebook’s book, Instagram has introduced some new features that will let users like comments or even disable them on their posts. Over the span of previous year, social media platforms Twitter and Facebook have also added features in an effort to minimize online harassment and track those that stand a chance of self-harm. The new option, which will show up in a menu button next to each follower’s name, is more subtle, and is meant to reduce the risk of retaliation.

The company released its figures for 2016 at the beginning of December and Selena Gomez has the most followed account aside from Instagram itself. While users always had control over the direct messages, comments have still been tough to manage. Simply click “advance settings” before uploading your post and then turn off commenting. But now you can actively remove individual followers if you change your mind about who you let see your photos.

Although the changes came into effect on Tuesday, the company stated it would take up to two weeks for them to appear for everyone. “If you believe that someone you care about may be thinking about injuring themselves, you can report it anonymously, and we will connect your friend to organizations that offer help”, Instagram explains on its blog (albeit with a odd example about a dog in a sweater).

Last but not the least, Instagram will allow users to anonymously report posts that have material outlining plans for a user to injure themselves. Instagram also says that liking comments will help “encourage positivity” on the app, since nice comments are way more likely to be liked. Furthermore, the social media network has also developed a feature for removing followers of private accounts. The other limitation was that once you approved a follower, the only way to remove the person from your followers’ list was to block the person.