One of the most recent updates to make the platform as seamless and user-friendly as possible is the Story translation tool. The Stories feature launched in 2016 and was based on a similar feature hosted by Snapchat. The feature has developed tremendously since its launch with users and content creators able to add gifs, share ‘swipe up’ affiliate links and add music.
In a bid to make the app even more accessible, allowing users to connect with global audiences through Stories, Instagram last week announced the rollout of automatic Story text translation. At present, translations are only available for text, with there currently being no capacity for direct audio conversion. Despite this, there are currently over 90 languages supported through the feature.
For your typical Instagram user, this allows for them to consume and understand content shared by those with whom they do not share a native language, and for brands and creators, this improved accessibility means that there is an opportunity to branch out into new markets, making themselves known to potential fans or customers across the globe.
The sensitivity filter could create
With positive intentions, Instagram recently introduced a feature that allows users to censor sensitive content on the app. Unfortunately, while the app does it’s best to ensure that hateful and offensive content and comments are not present on the app, there are some occasions where content that some individuals find offensive, doesn’t necessarily go against the strict community guidelines.
The introduction of the sensitive content censoring feature allows users to select to see more, or less, of some types of sensitive content on their Explore page, which to some may be upsetting or offensive. Of course, content that clearly breaks the community guidelines will be removed, yet this tool has been enabled to limit content including the likes of promotion of pharmaceuticals or 18+ products, and posts that may appear sexually graphic.
The safety of many Instagram users will be protected now that the opportunity to censor content is there, however, this may be a hindrance to creators who share art or news covering topics that are deemed to be sensitive.
There have been some reports over the past few days from artists who are upset that their posts have been blocked. Creators who share content openly on topics such as sex work, tattooing, and the cannabis industry have noticed that their posts are getting less engagement and reaching less people since the launch of the sensitive content feature.
Instagram is for everyone
Instagram has reassured content creators that it is not the app’s intention to hide their work. There are already limits in place on Instagram in regards to the amount of sensitive content people that appear on users’ Explore pages, and the default setting retains that filtering, and for those who still wish to see ‘sensitive content’ that still meets the community guidelines, will still be able to do so.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to developing app features that appeal to all users, however, with both of these new features in place, there is increased opportunity for users to engage in the content they love from creators across the globe.
