Changes
415 times Instagram's guidance changed, newest first. Each shows what was said before, and what replaced it.
2022
Parental supervisionMar 2022
The previously announced supervision tools became available in the US, with teens initially required to start supervision.
Before
New Safety and Well-being Features“It'll allow parents to see how much time their teens spend on Instagram, allow parents to set limits on how much time that they spend on Instagram, and allow teens to share when they report content on Instagram.”
After
Introducing Family Center and Parental Supervision Tools on Instagram and in VR“Supervision tools on Instagram are available in the US today, with plans to roll out globally in the coming months. Our first set of parental supervision tools on Instagram will allow parents and guardians to: - View how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits.”
Time spentMar 2022
Time tracking moved from the dashboard directly under Your Activity in settings to a Time spent section accessed through Your Activity in the profile menu.
Before
Instagram Features that Support #SaferInternetDay“To keep track of how much time you spend on Instagram, we developed an activity dashboard. To access the dashboard, go to the settings page and tap “Your Activity.” At the top of the page, you’ll see a dashboard showing the average amount of time you spend on Instagram.”
After
Hidden Gems - Your Activity“I want to start by acknowledging the situation in Ukraine right now. For those of you there, and for those of you with loved ones or friends in the Ukraine, it's important to me that you know that our thoughts are with you.”
ReelsFeb 2022
Reels distribution expanded beyond Instagram, allowing creators to have their Instagram Reels recommended on Facebook for additional reach.
Before
Introducing Instagram Reels“Today we’re announcing Instagram Reels: a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram. Reels invites you to create fun videos to share with your friends or anyone on Instagram. Record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects and new creative tools.”
After
Reels on Facebook“Reels on Facebook Today, Reels is launching globally on Facebook. Creators can now share their Instagram Reels as recommended content on Facebook for more visibility and reach. We are deeply invested in Reels across Meta.”
Community GuidelinesJan 2022
Instagram extended its safety measures to rank suspected bullying, hate speech or incitement to violence lower in followers’ Feeds and Stories, even before confirming a violation.
Before
Introducing Sensitive Content Control“Something has become increasingly clear over the years – people have very different views about the experience we offer, and if it’s the right one for them. We believe people should be able to shape Instagram into the experience that they want.”
After
How We Address Potentially Harmful Content on Feed and Stories“At Instagram, we’re always trying to show you content from the accounts you engage with and have the most value to you, while minimizing the likelihood that you come across content that could be upsetting or make you feel unsafe.”
FeedJan 2022
Feed ranking added predicted likelihood of reporting a post as a signal for showing it lower.
Before
Testing Feed Changes“Happy news everyone, I hope you had a restful holiday. I thought I'd kick off this year with an overview of how I'm gonna give you more control over your Instagram experience. It's important to me that people feel good about the time that they spend in the app, and I think giving people ways to shape Instagram into what's best for them is one of the best ways to pursue that goal.”
After
How We Address Potentially Harmful Content on Feed and Stories“Your Feed is a collection of posts from the people you follow, ads, and posts we recommend to you. We rank content in your Feed based on how likely we think you are to interact with a post in different ways, like commenting, liking and saving.”
Hate speechJan 2022
Instagram extended its approach beyond removal and recommendation restrictions by lowering suspected hate speech in followers’ Feeds and Stories.
Before
Introducing Sensitive Content Control“Something has become increasingly clear over the years – people have very different views about the experience we offer, and if it’s the right one for them. We believe people should be able to shape Instagram into the experience that they want.”
After
How We Address Potentially Harmful Content on Feed and Stories“At Instagram, we’re always trying to show you content from the accounts you engage with and have the most value to you, while minimizing the likelihood that you come across content that could be upsetting or make you feel unsafe.”
Captions and keywordsJan 2022
Instagram expanded its response to potentially harmful captions from pre-posting warnings to also lowering suspected harmful posts in followers’ Feeds and Stories.
Before
Our Progress on Leading the Fight Against Online Bullying“Starting today, we are rolling out a new feature on Instagram that notifies people when their captions on a photo or video may be considered offensive, and gives them a chance to pause and reconsider their words before posting.”
After
How We Address Potentially Harmful Content on Feed and Stories“At Instagram, we’re always trying to show you content from the accounts you engage with and have the most value to you, while minimizing the likelihood that you come across content that could be upsetting or make you feel unsafe.”
2021
Instagram ShoppingDec 2021
The Holiday Pop-Up Shop LIVE event dates changed from December 5–15 to December 7–14.
Before
Where’d You Get That? Spend the Holidays with Instagram Shop“With Instagram’s Live Shopping events, skip the crowds this year and watch for exclusive drops and offers only available in the app. Our star-studded lineup of emerging brands and celebrity guests will bring you expert product recs all season long.”
After
Shop Live on Instagram at our Holiday Pop-Up“The Instagram Shop tab is your destination to find brands and products that make people ask, “Where’d you get that?” Get styling tips in real-time on live shopping, where you can chat and ask questions to learn more.”
Content reportingDec 2021
Reporting gained an “involves a child” option that helps prioritize reports for review and action.
Before
Instagram Features that Support #SaferInternetDay“If you see something that shouldn’t be on Instagram, you can report it to us. Our team works 24/7 to quickly review and remove content that goes against our Community Guidelines. To report something, tap “…” on the top right corner of the post or profile, or swipe left on the comment.”
After
Our Approach to Safer Private Messaging“Reporting is an essential tool for people to stay safe and help us respond to abuse effectively. We’re making it much easier to report harm and educating people on how to spot scammers and impersonators by redesigning our reporting feature to be more prominent in Messenger.”
Bullying and harassmentNov 2021
Hidden Words was described as protecting comments as well as DMs, extending the earlier description of filtering offensive DM requests.
Before
Today, we’re announcing new tools to help protect our community from abuse.“Today, we’re announcing new tools to help protect our community from abuse. Limits - now available globally - lets you hide comments and DMs from people who don’t follow you or who only just followed you.”
After
There's an important discussion happening right now about keeping young people safe online.“Over the last few years, we've led the fight against online bullying with new interesting features like restrict, which gives power back to the targets of bullying, hidden words, which help you control your experience in DMs and in comments.”
Time spentNov 2021
Instagram expanded its time-management tools beyond daily reminders by testing optional break reminders after 10, 20, or 30 minutes of use.
Before
Instagram Features that Support #SaferInternetDay“To keep track of how much time you spend on Instagram, we developed an activity dashboard. To access the dashboard, go to the settings page and tap “Your Activity.” At the top of the page, you’ll see a dashboard showing the average amount of time you spend on Instagram.”
After
Testing “Take a Break” “And what we're starting to test this week on Instagram is one that I'm actually personally very excited about. It's called Take a Break and it does what you think it does. If you opt in, it encourages you to take a break from Instagram after you spend a certain amount of time on the app, 10, 20, 30 minutes.”
MisinformationOct 2021
Instagram added loss of access to the Link sticker as another consequence for accounts that repeatedly share misinformation.
Before
Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works“it down. If this happens repeatedly, we may prevent you from sharing, and eventually we might suspend your account. If you think we’ve made a mistake – and we do make mistakes – you can appeal by following these steps.”
After
Expanding Sharing Links in Stories to Everyone“As part of our ongoing efforts to limit harmful content on Instagram, new accounts and accounts that repeatedly share things like hate speech and misinformation, or other content that violates our Community Guidelines will not have access to the Link sticker.”
Content moderationOct 2021
Account Status adds a central place to find removed posts, see violation reasons, and access appeals.
Before
Account Disable Policy Changes on Instagram“Today, we are announcing a change to our account disable policy. Together with Facebook, we develop policies to ensure Instagram is a supportive place for everyone. These changes will help us quickly detect and remove accounts that repeatedly violate our policies.”
After
New Transparency Tools“they can understand exactly why they might not be having the experience they expect on Instagram. We're also launching something we're calling a count status. So this is taking some data you already have access to, specifically any content violations you have, um, so any content, any photos or videos that you've posted have been taken down, and elevating it so that you can get to it really easily and find out exactly how many violations you have and what the reasons were.”
IGTVOct 2021
Instagram combined IGTV and feed videos into Instagram Video, with a new Video tab on profiles.
Before
Welcome to IGTV, our New Video App“Update: We launched IGTV at an event in San Francisco featuring many of the Instagram creators who’ll make IGTV great. Check out the video of the event to learn what IGTV is, how it works and see it come to life.”
After
Creating Instagram Videos Just Got Even Easier“Starting today, we’re combining IGTV and feed videos into one format — Instagram Video. We’re also introducing a new Video tab on your profile, where this combined video format will live, to make it easier for people to discover new video content.”
VideoOct 2021
The IGTV-centered discovery experience evolved into a combined video format with a new Video tab and fullscreen scrolling to discover more creators’ videos.
Before
Making Explore an Even Better Home for Your Interests“People turn to Explore when they want to branch out from the accounts they already follow on Instagram. Today we’re announcing new designs in Explore, bringing you more ways to discover photos, videos, products and Stories relevant to your interests.”
After
Creating Instagram Videos Just Got Even Easier“The new Video tab will be the home for this combined video format, making it easier for people to find content from creators they love. When watching videos on Instagram, viewers can tap anywhere on the video to enter fullscreen.”
Teen safetySep 2021
Instagram refined its proposed parent-managed experience to specify ages 10–12, parental permission to join, no ads, and controls over content and contacts.
Before
How Do We Know Someone Is Old Enough to Use Our Apps?“We’re also looking at ways we can reduce the incentive for people under the age of 13 to lie about their age. The reality is that they’re already online, and with no foolproof way to stop people from misrepresenting their age, we want to build experiences designed specifically for them, managed by parents and guardians.”
After
Pausing ‘Instagram Kids’ and Building Parental Supervision Tools“Critics of “Instagram Kids” will see this as an acknowledgement that the project is a bad idea. That’s not the case. The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.”
Content moderationAug 2021
Instagram expanded its enforcement reporting from 10 to 11 policy areas and added metrics on appeals, restored content and prevalence.
Before
Community Standards Enforcement Report, First Quarter 2021“In addition to our Community Standards Enforcement Report, this quarter we’re also sharing: - Our new Transparency Center, providing a single destination for our integrity and transparency efforts - Our biannual Transparency Report that shares information on government requests for user data, content restrictions based on local laws, intellectual property takedowns and internet disruptions - New numbers on data scraping - Recent updates on recommendations from the Oversight Board Today we’re publishing our Community Standards Enforcement Report for the first quarter of 2021.”
After
Community Standards Enforcement Report, Second Quarter 2021“Today we’re publishing the Community Standards Enforcement Report for the second quarter of 2021. This report provides metrics on how we enforced our policies from April through June. This is our 10th report and some of our long-term trends include: - Prevalence of hate speech has decreased for three quarters in a row since we first began reporting it.”
Bullying and harassmentAug 2021
The abusive-DM filtering tool, Hidden Words, was being rolled out to everyone globally by the end of August 2021.
Before
Introducing new tools to protect our community from abuse“We recently shared an update on our work to combat abuse and hate speech on Instagram, which included stricter penalties for people who send abusive Direct Messages (DMs). Now, we’re announcing a new way to protect people from seeing abusive DMs in the first place, as well as the ability to prevent someone you’ve blocked from contacting you from a new account.”
After
Today, we’re announcing new tools to help protect our community from abuse.“Today, we’re announcing new tools to help protect our community from abuse. Limits - now available globally - lets you hide comments and DMs from people who don’t follow you or who only just followed you.”
Comment controlsAug 2021
Limits added a way to automatically hide comments from non-followers and recent followers, extending the earlier controls over who could comment.
Before
Strengthening Our Commitment to Safety and Kindness for 800 Million“Over time, we’ve launched a number of tools to help you manage the comments experience, and today we’re introducing more. Starting today, if your account is public, you’ll see a new way to choose who can comment on your posts – from everyone to just groups of people, like people you follow or your followers.”
After
Protecting Our Community from Abuse on Instagram“To help protect people when they experience or anticipate a rush of abusive comments and DMs, we’re introducing Limits: a feature that’s easy to turn on, and will automatically hide comments and DM requests from people who don’t follow you, or who only recently followed you.”
Hidden WordsAug 2021
The previously announced Hidden Words feature begins rolling out globally.
Before
Introducing new tools to protect our community from abuse“comments and choose what terms you don’t want people to use in comments under your posts. You can turn both comment and DM request filters on and off in a new dedicated section of your Privacy Settings called Hidden Words.”
After
Protecting Our Community from Abuse on Instagram“Today, we’re announcing new features to help protect people from abuse on Instagram: - The ability for people to limit comments and DM requests during spikes of increased attention - Stronger warnings when people try to post potentially offensive comments - The global rollout of our Hidden Words feature, which allows people to filter abusive DM requests We have a responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe when they’re on Instagram.”
Hate speechAug 2021
Limits moved from testing to launch, and Hidden Words filtering for abusive DM requests began rolling out globally.
Before
Racism is not acceptable and has no place on Instagram.“Other things include hidden words, which is allowed you to block certain keywords in comments that you pick for years now. But we've actually recently extended hidden words, to cover DMs as well. We're currently experimenting with something we call limits, which essentially locks down your account when you're in a moment of risk.”
After
Protecting Our Community from Abuse on Instagram“Today, we’re announcing new features to help protect people from abuse on Instagram: - The ability for people to limit comments and DM requests during spikes of increased attention - Stronger warnings when people try to post potentially offensive comments - The global rollout of our Hidden Words feature, which allows people to filter abusive DM requests We have a responsibility to make sure everyone feels safe when they’re on Instagram.”
LimitsAug 2021
Limits moved from an experiment to a launched feature that hides comments and DM requests from non-followers and recent followers.
Before
Racism is not acceptable and has no place on Instagram.“Other things include hidden words, which is allowed you to block certain keywords in comments that you pick for years now. But we've actually recently extended hidden words, to cover DMs as well. We're currently experimenting with something we call limits, which essentially locks down your account when you're in a moment of risk.”
After
Protecting Our Community from Abuse on Instagram“To help protect people when they experience or anticipate a rush of abusive comments and DMs, we’re introducing Limits: a feature that’s easy to turn on, and will automatically hide comments and DM requests from people who don’t follow you, or who only recently followed you.”
Private accountsJul 2021
The public-by-default policy gained an exception: new users under 16 would now start with private accounts.
Before
Tips for Staying Safe on Instagram“Over the last year, Instagram has released a number of tools and resources to ensure that we remain a safe and welcoming community. From advanced account security to comment tools, we’ve rounded up the top tips and tricks, both on and off Instagram, to keep your account and your community safe.”
After
As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun.“As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun. That’s why we’re sharing some updates: - Now everyone under 16 will be defaulted to a private account when they join Instagram - We’re making it harder for adults to contact teens who don’t want to hear from them - We’re limiting ways advertisers can reach young people on Instagram and Facebook We’ll keep listening to feedback from teens, parents, lawmakers and experts – and working to keep Instagram safe.”
Private accountsJul 2021
For new users under 16, Instagram moved from encouraging them to choose private accounts to making private the default.
Before
Continuing to Make Instagram Safer for the Youngest Members of Our Community“Having a private account offers more protections for teens as they can better control who can see and interact with their content. We’ve recently added a new step when someone under 18 signs up for an Instagram account that gives them the option to choose between a public or private account.”
After
As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun.“As a dad to three, I know it’s important to create an Instagram experience for young people that’s safe and private but also fun. That’s why we’re sharing some updates: - Now everyone under 16 will be defaulted to a private account when they join Instagram - We’re making it harder for adults to contact teens who don’t want to hear from them - We’re limiting ways advertisers can reach young people on Instagram and Facebook We’ll keep listening to feedback from teens, parents, lawmakers and experts – and working to keep Instagram safe.”
ExploreJul 2021
Instagram added Sensitive Content Control so users could adjust how much sensitive content they saw in Explore instead of relying solely on Instagram’s filtering.
Before
Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works“gives us a sense of how interested you might be in what they shared. - Your activity. These are signals like what posts you’ve liked, saved or commented on and how you’ve interacted with posts in Explore in the past.”
After
Introducing Sensitive Content Control“sensitive content from accounts you don’t follow. You can think of sensitive content as posts that don’t necessarily break our rules, but could potentially be upsetting to some people – such as posts that may be sexually suggestive or violent.”
Sensitive contentJul 2021
Instagram introduced Sensitive Content Control, letting people choose how much sensitive content appears in Explore rather than relying solely on Instagram’s recommendation filtering.
Before
Recommendation Guidelines“Across our apps, we make recommendations to help you discover new communities and content we think you’re likely to be interested in. We suggest Pages, Groups, Events and more based on content you’ve expressed interest in and actions you take on our apps.”
After
Introducing Sensitive Content Control“Something has become increasingly clear over the years – people have very different views about the experience we offer, and if it’s the right one for them. We believe people should be able to shape Instagram into the experience that they want.”
Recommendation eligibilityJul 2021
Instagram introduced Sensitive Content Control, letting users adjust how much sensitive content appears in Explore rather than relying only on Instagram’s filtering.
Before
Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works“gives us a sense of how interested you might be in what they shared. - Your activity. These are signals like what posts you’ve liked, saved or commented on and how you’ve interacted with posts in Explore in the past.”
After
Introducing Sensitive Content Control“Something has become increasingly clear over the years – people have very different views about the experience we offer, and if it’s the right one for them. We believe people should be able to shape Instagram into the experience that they want.”
IGTVJul 2021
Instagram added an invitation-only, one-time bonus for US creators signing up for IGTV ads, alongside advertising revenue sharing.
Before
Doing More to Support Creators on Instagram“to a person’s name throughout the live video. Fans who have purchased badges in Live will stand out in the comments and unlock additional features, including placement on a creator’s list of badge holders and access to a special heart.”
After
Investing $1 Billion in Creators“The first bonus opportunities on Facebook, available by invitation now, help creators earn more while learning how to create content that can be monetized. - In-Stream bonus pays an earnings bonus over the next four months to select video creators using in-stream ads.”
MisinformationJun 2021
Instagram clarified that repeatedly posting fact-checked misinformation can make all of an account’s content harder to find, beyond downranking individual false posts.
Before
Keeping People Informed, Safe, and Supported on Instagram“In addition to promoting credible information throughout our app, we’re making several changes to reduce the spread of misinformation. We’ll remove COVID-19 accounts from account recommendations, and we are working to remove some COVID-19 related content from Explore, unless posted by a credible health organization.”
After
Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works“it down. If this happens repeatedly, we may prevent you from sharing, and eventually we might suspend your account. If you think we’ve made a mistake – and we do make mistakes – you can appeal by following these steps.”
HashtagsJun 2021
Instagram updated the selection of Pride hashtags used for its colorful Pride effects, adding examples such as #genderfluid and #pridefamily.
Before
Celebrating LGBTQ Pride with New Features, Hashtags, & Tools“No matter how you celebrate Pride, you can do it colorfully across Instagram. Together with GLAAD, we’ve identified prominent and popular hashtags – such as #lgbtq, #bornperfect, #equalitymatters, #accelerateacceptance, or #pride2019 – that the LGBTQ+ community uses to share and connect with each other.”
After
June is #Pride month and we've got a lot of fun ways we're celebrating and supporting the community here on Instagram.“Stetik, and many more. Secondly, we're shipping creative tools that allow people to colorfully express themselves for Pride on feed stories. We're launching new Tappable stickers illustrated by three global creators: Rosa Nazario from Canada, Leandro Cesar from Brazil, and Ariana Loon from Germany.”