Earlier this week, Instagram began rolling out a new feature that detects potentially offensive content and "gives them [users] a chance to pause and reconsider their words before posting," as the company said in a blog post.
The update is one of many steps Instagram has taken to combat bullying on the app this year. They've also removed the public display of the like count as well. They explained in their post: "As part of our long-term commitment to lead the fight against online bullying, we’ve developed and tested AI that can recognize different forms of bullying on Instagram. Earlier this year, we launched a feature that notifies people when their comments may be considered offensive before they’re posted. Results have been promising, and we’ve found that these types of nudges can encourage people to reconsider their words when given a chance."
They continued to say that the decision is also about educating users about what content is deemed offensive: "In addition to limiting the reach of bullying, this warning helps educate people on what we don’t allow on Instagram, and when an account may be at risk of breaking our rules."
The update is out now in select countries and is continuing to release globally.