Instagram to let users evaluate authenticity of accounts

Instagram will now let its users evaluate the authenticity of accounts, a measure that the photo-sharing platform believes can help stop "bad actors" before they cause harm.

The Facebook-owned company is also launching a global verification form for notable public figures and an improved form of two-factor authentication to make it easier and safer for its over a billion users to securely log in.

"Keeping people with bad intentions off our platform is incredibly important...That means trying to make sure the people you (users) follow and the accounts you interact with are who they say they are, and stopping bad actors before they cause harm," Instagram co-founder and CTO Mike Krieger said in a blogpost.

He added that the new updates are built upon existing tools like spam and abusive content filters and the ability to report or block accounts.

"We know we have more work to do to keep bad actors off Instagram, and we are committed to continuing to build more tools to do just that," he noted.

In the coming weeks, users will be able to see more information about accounts on Instagram that reach large audiences to help evaluate the authenticity of the account, it said.

Instagram is adding the 'About This Account' feature that will allow users to see the country where the account is located, username changes in the last year as well as advertisements that the account is currently running.

"Our community has told us that it is important to them to have a deeper understanding of accounts that reach many people on Instagram, particularly when those accounts are sharing information related to current events, political or social causes, for example," he wrote.

Besides, a blue verified badge will be available for notable public figures, global brands and entities. Instagram will allow usage of third-party apps for two-factor authentication to help users securely log into their accounts.