The new ‘limits’ feature is one that users can switch on in order to hide comments or messages from those who do not follow or those who have just started following them.
Instagram has introduced this feature off the back of spikes in mass abusive messages from those “who simply pile on in the moment”. They specifically mentioned the racial abuse that occurred following the Euro 2020 final.
The level of online abuse in this particular instance prompted calls from the UK prime minister for social media networks to put better tools in place to prevent as much abuse as possible. Subsequently, multiple arrests took place after the Euro final as part of an investigation into online hate crimes.
Instagram apologetically stated that it could have in fact been doing more to moderate comments and messages on the app, and the introduction of ‘limits’ shows that positive action has been taken.
