Instagram Launches New Feature to Prevent Hate Speech, Online Abuse

Instagram will provide a new feature to help users filter offensive messages and even emojis on the social media platform.

The Facebook-owned app. is launching the new feature to prevent hate speech and online abuse, as the majority of its user base is teenagers and young adults.

The U.S. giant said it would also make it difficult for people blocked by users to contact them through new accounts.

This filter can be activated by going to the privacy settings in the application, and adding custom words, phrases and emojis to the filter one wishes to block in their message requests.

Users can also delete, or even open messages, which is sorted in the Hidden Requests folder.

For now, the feature only applies to direct message requests and not to the inbox itself, and will roll out in some countries in the coming weeks.

In the coming weeks, all users will also have an expanded option to completely block people from contacting them on Instagram, if they are blocked on Facebook.