Online harassment: Instagram lets you limit interactions with "close friends" groups

Instagram lets teens limit interactions to fight harassment.

To combat harassment on its platform, Instagram has announced the extension of its "Limits" tool. Specifically aimed at teens, it allows them to restrict unwanted interactions. Once the feature is activated, teens will only see comments, messages, replies to stories, tags and mentions from their "Close Friends" group. Interactions from other accounts will be disabled.

Instagram lets you limit interactions to fight online harassment

Instagram originally launched the Limits feature as a test in 2021 after English footballers Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were harassed online following the English team's defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. From now on, anyone can activate the feature to protect themselves. Accounts that are not part of a person's "Close Friends" group can still interact with them, but their activity will not appear in the feed. At the same time, Meta has also announced that teens can limit interactions with recent followers - accounts that have recently started following them or accounts they don't follow.

In addition, the company is adding a new option to its "Restrict" feature, which allows you to restrict interactions from specific accounts without blocking them. Once the option is activated, Instagram will hide all comments from restricted accounts. They will no longer be able to tag or mention the account concerned.

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Instagram: a succession of features to protect minors

Earlier this year, the social networking giant introduced new restrictions preventing anyone over 18 from sending messages to teens who don't follow them. In April, the company also introduced a feature to blur nudity in Instagram DMs for teens.

These announcements are part of a wider mobilization of Meta, widely criticized for its lack of protection for minors. Last October, more than 40 US states sued Meta, alleging that the design of its products had an impact on children's mental health . Earlier this month, the European Union opened an investigation against Facebook and Instagram for their "addictive design" and "negative impact" on the mental health of minors .

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