With the amount of negative news at the moment, this could prove to be an important addition for Instagram moving forward.

As per user Alessandro Paluzzi (and social media expert Matt Navarra), the platform is working on a new option which would enable users to limit their exposure to sensitive content on the platform via a new setting.

As you can see here, the new setting, when switched on, would mean that the user would “see fewer photos and videos that might be sensitive”. The option was also spotted in testing by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, who additionally noted that the setting was on by default when she came across it.

Of course, Instagram already limits user exposure to sensitive content by placing questionable posts behind a screen, and giving users an option to view the photo/video if they choose.

Maybe this new setting would make that screen obsolete? Or maybe, if the setting is on by default, then people will still see these ‘sensitive content’ screens, but if you choose to switch the new setting off, you effectively remove these screens from your feed, so you can view all types of content unimpeded. 

There could also be a more expanded use for it – maybe it’s for borderline content which is not quite at the level where the screen is required, but still, maybe people would prefer not to see it. Or it could just mean you see less of these posts – offensive content screen included – in order to save you from the compulsion to look. 

The option is still only in early testing, so we don’t have any info to go on at this stage, but it looks likely to be rolled out sometime soon. We’ll have more info on the actual functionality of the toggle then.