I’ve stopped using both Twitter and Periscope because they do not do enough to make using their services enjoyable to use.

• Periscope allows people to leave inappropriate comments during your live broadcast.
• Twitter is notorious for allowing trolls to hurl abuse at other users and only recently (after being in service since 2006) added a feature where you can block tweets containing offensive words.

Instagram, a younger entry in the social media family, helps its users flag inappropriate comments…

How? There’s a feature under the settings where you can input nasty, vile, offensive words and so that any comments containing those words never shows up.

I’ll give you the step-by-step below, including words you can copy and paste and add to your inappropriate comments keyword field.

But first, in order for this tutorial to work, you must already have an Instagram account and it must already be installed on your mobile device as I won’t be walking you through those steps.

With that understanding, here are the three steps…

Step 1 – Go to Options

After opening the Instagram app on your mobile device, click the icon of the person to go to your profile (see Step 1 in the image below), then click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner to go to your Options (see Step 2 in the image below).

Step 2 – Click on Comments

You’ll most likely need to scroll down until you find Comments which is under Settings. Once you find it, click on it.

Step 3 – Turn On the Feature, Then Add Keyworks

Turn the Hide Inappropriate Comments feature on by sliding the tab to the right. Now, you need to add offensive words in the Custom Keywords field so Instagram knows which comments to hide from your view.

I’ve hidden the list of offensive words in the image below as I don’t want trolls to know every word I find offensive. Instead, I’ll post below this image a few keywords that you can copy and paste into the Custom Keywords field in your profile. Feel free to add your own.

 

Custom Keywords you can copy and paste:

anal, bastard, bitch, cunt, cock, coon, dick, fuck, fag, monkey, moron, nigger, pussy, penis, retard, shit, slut, tramp, vagina, whore, witch

There are other offensive keywords you can add…

My Custom Keywords field contains almost 30-words, but I’ve chosen not to publish all of them above. If I do, trolls will find clever ways around my keywords so they get my attention.

I suggest that you think of every way someone could spell a particular word and add them to your Custom Keywords field. Add spaces to the word, or add a star where a vowel should be.

For example:

• witch is spelled witch
• But it could be spelled w*tch, w i t c h, w-i-t-c-h, wiach, or wiatch

Whenever I come across a new spelling, I add it to my Custom Keyword field. So far, there’s no limit to the number of words you can add to that field.

When you’re done adding the offensive words, don’t forget to tap on the checkmark in the top right hand corner. That way, your changes will be saved.

Taking this action isn’t about hiding from the world…

It’s about making your social media experience enjoyable. If one wouldn’t take abuse from anyone in the “real” world, why tolerate abuse online? This is just one way you can protect yourself from those who choose to use social media as a way to demean, depress, and destroy.

What other tips would you recommend? Add it below.