Angela Lang/CNET
A new Instagram feature notifies users when their captions on a photo or video may be considered offensive and gives them the chance to write something else before posting, the social media app’s parent company Facebook said in a blog post Monday. Instagram added a similar feature on comments earlier this year. The additions are part of the platform’s growing antibullying efforts.
“In our continued effort to lead the industry in the fight against online bullying, we are launching a new feature that asks people to reflect on a post that may contain bullying before it’s posted,” a Facebook company spokesperson told CNET in an email. “If our artificial intelligence detects potential bullying in a caption, we will give people the option to pause and reconsider the post before it is shared with the community.”
Now, when you write a caption for an Instagram post, the site’s AI will examine it. If it detects that the caption could be offensive, you’ll see a pop up informing you that the caption is similar to those reported for bullying. You’ll have the chance to edit your caption before it is posted.
A new instagram feature uses AI to detect if a caption could be considered offensive before you post it.
While this helps deter bullying, it also educates users on what is and is not allowed on Instagram. The feature will start rolling out in certain countries today (it did not specify which), and will expand globally in the coming months, the post said.
Originally published: Dec. 16 at 10:29 a.m. PT. Update, at 11:33 p.m. PT: Added comment from Facebook.
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