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Instagram Is Rolling Out a Sensitive Content Control Option

Users will be able to toggle the settings to determine which types of sensitive content appear in their newsfeeds.

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Photo: LIONEL BONAVENTURE / Contributor (Getty Images)

Seeking to give users ever-increasing control over their scrolling experiences, Instagram on Tuesday unveiled plans to debut a Sensitive Content Control option that will allow users to better control which content appears in their Explore feeds.

In a post to its newsroom, Facebook announced that the feature will allow users to access a new Sensitive Content Control option in the Settings menu, which they can use to decide to either keep their content preferences at the default state (Limit), or to opt to see more sensitive content by selectingAllow.” Users will be able to further customize their feeds by opting to see more or less of certain types of sensitive content by selectingLimit Even More.” According to Facebook, users will be able to change their selected options at any time, unless they’re under 18 years old, in which case they won’t be able to choose to “Allow” sensitive content in their feeds. 

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According to Facebook, sensitive content is defined as any 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.” The platform, for what it’s worth, is notoriously shoddy about which content it deems “sensitive” — photographs containing human nipples are often labeled as explicit, for example, even when the humans being depicted are breastfeeding mothers or young children.

The new settings options are part of a larger initiative by Instagram to allow users to customize their news feeds. In 2020, the platform announced a slate of settings tweaks that would allow users to delete up to 25 comments at once, as well as block or restrict users in bulk directly from their unwanted comments. Instagram has also rolled out new features in recent years aimed at allowing users to restrict certain users from interacting with them on the platform, including by leaving comments or viewing their Instagram stories.