Safer Internet Day: These Are The Ways To Be Safe On Instagram And YouTube

While it has become almost impossible to avoid using social media platforms, it is also very important to use social networking platforms in a way that we can also prevent incidents like cyberbullying.

Safer Internet Day: These Are The Ways To Be Safe On Instagram And YouTube/Getty

New Delhi: As February 8 is marked as a day to promote and observe Safer Internet Day, it is also a great way to remind us about the value of privacy as incidents of cyberattacks, malware attacks and online frauds continue to rise. While it has become almost impossible to avoid using social media platforms, it is also very important to use social networking platforms in a way that we can also prevent incidents like cyberbullying and online harassment. As we mark Safer Internet Day on Tuesday (today) we bring you the important safety features introduced by two popular social media companies, Instagram and YouTube to keep users safe online.

Instagram Limits: This feature automatically hides comments and DM requests from people who don’t follow you, or only recently started following you. Limits will allow users to hear more from your long-standing followers while limiting contact from people who might only be coming to their account to target. Users can easily turn this feature on by going to their privacy settings. 

Take A Break: To make informed decisions about how users spend time on Instagram, they can enable the "Take a Break" feature which allows them to pause usage after a set time. They can also set reminders to take more breaks in the future. Instagram also shows expert-backed tips to help reflect and reset. To inform teens about this feature, Instagram shows notifications suggesting people turn on these reminders.

Control Comments: Instagram has built filters that automatically remove offensive words and phrases and bullying comments. Users can also create their own list of words or emojis that they don’t want to see in the comments section. They can enable this by going to “Filters” in the Comment Controls section. They can also choose who you want to allow to comment on their posts or they can block commenters.

Hidden Words: Instagram has rolled out a Hidden Words feature that allows users to filter abusive DM requests that are likely to be "spammy or low-quality”. It also lets them automatically filter offensive words, phrases, and emojis into a hidden folder. 

Sensitive Content Control: In order to avoid posts that might be upsetting, Instagram limits the visibility of certain posts that have been flagged by the community for containing sensitive content. The setting was launched to reduce hate speech, bullying, and harmful content on the platform.

Block and Multiblock: Users can block accounts they don’t want to interact with. This will block people from seeing and commenting on their posts, Stories, Reels, and Live broadcasts. Instagram does not tell people when they’ve been blocked, or who has blocked them, and users can unblock an account at any time.

More controls to manage data on YouTube: Users can check out the Your Data in YouTube feature to easily browse, delete or pause their YouTube search or watch history. Any videos removed from the history will no longer influence their recommendations, and queries they have removed won’t show in the search bar as history suggestions. Users can also learn more about how YouTube uses and stores their data with this feature.

More choices for parents with kids, tweens and teens: For a parent or caregiver, Google-owned YouTube offers options and controls to help them decide what kind of YouTube experience is best. If you’re a parent of younger children, you can start them off with YouTube Kids. YouTube Kids is aimed at creating a safer environment for kids to explore their interests and curiosity while giving parents the tools to customise the experience.

Incognito Mode: If you prefer a more private viewing experience, consider using Incognito mode on the mobile app or Chrome browser for browsing YouTube. Incognito mode lets users browse privately in a session so the account’s search and watch history won't be carried over to their logged-in account's search and watch history.