Instagram Launches An Anti-Bullying Message With The Release Of Its New Feature “Restrict”


Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that occurs on the internet. This type of bullying has grown in numbers since the rise of easy access to technology and the world wide web. Teenagers, adults, all ages of people, are continuously mistreating their anonymity by bullying and harassing others on social media.


Instagram has reacted to this growing problem by releasing a new anti-bullying feature called "Restrict.” The idea is to allow users to quietly go about protecting their accounts while still being able to keep "an eye on a bully.”

How does it work? Well, when you want to silence a bully, all you need to do is "swipe left on a comment, through the Privacy tab in settings, or directly on the profile of the account you intend to restrict,” according to Instagram's information center. You will be given two choices: to enable the "restrict" function or not. If you choose the former, comments from that particular bully is only visible to them. If you wish to see it, press "see comment,” in which you can then approve, delete or ignore.


Direct messages are also a place where bullies thrive. Users that have been restricted will instantly move to the "message request" section in your DMs. You are able to see the message but the person who sent it will not be notified that it has been seen nor if you're active on Instagram at any moment in time.

We applaud Instagram for taking the necessary steps to reduce cyberbullying and we hope that they continue to build on it and inspire other social media platforms to follow suit. 

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