Instagram just launched a new filter to stop Internet trolls in their tracks, and it’s exactly what we needed. 

With online bullying running rampant across multimedia platforms, Instagram’s newly created feature will allow users to filter out their own curated list of offensive or inappropriate comments.

If the app’s new custom blocklists aren’t enough, you can even halt comments on your pictures entirely. According to Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, the new filter is helping support the company’s mission to “make sure everyone feels safe to be themselves without criticism or harassment” (K. Systrom, CNET). Read more 

Instagram’s new anti-abuse comment feature is undoubtedly a substantial step in the right direction when it comes to online harassment. With the advent of technological accessibility, Internet trolls have been gaining traction across social media platforms at an alarming rate. Hopefully the new blocklists will put the hatred-spewing bullies right where they belong—in the dark corners of the digital stratosphere.

Curiosity seemingly spawns from why the co-founders decided to generate the filter now rather than 5 years ago. Celebrities like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift actually kickstarted the use of blocklists when they received advanced access to the filter tool earlier this year. What Instagram has realized is that public figures are obviously not the only ones affected by cruelty on the Internet. Not-so-exposed demographics will now too be able to battle trolls just like their famous counterparts.

It’s safe to say that the ball’s now in the courts of other major media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, as critics claim their platforms actually enable trolls to engage in this sort of digital intimidation. The new anti-hate filter update only furthers Instagram’s image as the powerhouse multimedia hub among millennials. The morally sensitive generation can now block out online bullying on one of their most beloved social media apps, leaving trolls flailing.

So thank you Instagram. You have taken the first substantial step in the fight to “eliminate the hate” and end the perpetuation of negativity on the Internet. Maybe now people will start using the app for what it was originally intended for—documenting life one picture at a time.