Instagram to let users control how much sensitive content they see

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's photo-sharing app Instagram will give users control over how much sensitive content they will see under its "Explore" tab, the company said on Tuesday.

The Explore tab displays popular photos, locations and searches based on the user's interests and allows them to pick from categories such as food, art and travel, among others.

The new feature, called "Sensitive Content Control", will allow users to decide if they want to see more or less of some types of sensitive content that do not necessarily break its rules, such as posts that may be sexually suggestive or violent, the company said.

"We recognize that everybody has different preferences for what they want to see in Explore, and this control will give people more choice over what they see," it said in a post https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/introducing-sensitive-content-control.

Instagram, like other social media platforms, has long grappled with how to police problematic or harmful content on its platform.

The app has made other changes for users to shape their experience, including adding new tools for people to turn off comments or restrict people from interacting with them.

Social media platforms are investing billions of dollars to bring content creators on their platforms while also pushing to allow safe content on their platforms as competition in the space heats up.

 

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru and Elizabeth Culliford in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)