Let us hone in on Instagram for today's dose of tech news. The social media app has recently introduced a Touch Up feature for Reels, as per Matt Navarra. It also seems to be testing the ability for individuals to block multiple people in one go.
The Touch Up feature, recently made a part of Instagram's short form video sharing service Reels, is essentially a cosmetic feature that acts as a filter of sort on content. It attempts to make skin appear smoother and potentially more reminded than it actually is. The feature, while not present as a part of Instagram's vanilla interface, is also accessible in normal photography and stories via custom filters issued on the platform. The Touch Up is accessible on the short pop-up menu present on either the left or right hand side of one's screen, and has a sliding adjustment meter to allow users more control in it's application.
The sentiment of continuing to add more and more features to Reels rings hollow when such new tweaks prove to be so detrimental to Instagram's other endeavors. Specifically, creating a safe online environment by actively putting down body image issues. Recently, the social media platform was put under a ruling by the UK, ensuring that brands and influencers on the platform had to announce the use of filters on their content. This move, led by online makeup artist Sasha Pallari, was done to combat the effects of online body dysmorphia brought on by these online celebrities. The active addition of filters to Reels flies in the face of such progressive action, and serves no one, really.
The staying power of this feature is rather difficult to discuss, especially since Reels itself is not a widely rolled out feature, being restricted to certain regions for the time being. That being said, when Instagram head Adam Mosseri declared Reels to be inferior to TikTok and contemplated that changes needed to be made, this being the first of those revamps to show up is a tad tone deaf to it's own actions in the UK.
In other, less disappointing news, Instagram is seemingly testing the ability to block multiple individuals in one go. As spotted by Alessandro Paluzzi, a new plus sign has been added to the Blocked Accounts menu, accessible from one's Privacy details in the Settings tab. Once clicked upon, a Search menu will appear, allowing one to select and accordingly block multiple people at a time, and rather conveniently as well. The feature, however, currently seems to be in the process of A/B testing and is therefore only available on a limited number of devices.
Read next: Instagram Tests The Possible Addition of Vertical Stories To Its Interface
The Touch Up feature, recently made a part of Instagram's short form video sharing service Reels, is essentially a cosmetic feature that acts as a filter of sort on content. It attempts to make skin appear smoother and potentially more reminded than it actually is. The feature, while not present as a part of Instagram's vanilla interface, is also accessible in normal photography and stories via custom filters issued on the platform. The Touch Up is accessible on the short pop-up menu present on either the left or right hand side of one's screen, and has a sliding adjustment meter to allow users more control in it's application.
The sentiment of continuing to add more and more features to Reels rings hollow when such new tweaks prove to be so detrimental to Instagram's other endeavors. Specifically, creating a safe online environment by actively putting down body image issues. Recently, the social media platform was put under a ruling by the UK, ensuring that brands and influencers on the platform had to announce the use of filters on their content. This move, led by online makeup artist Sasha Pallari, was done to combat the effects of online body dysmorphia brought on by these online celebrities. The active addition of filters to Reels flies in the face of such progressive action, and serves no one, really.
The staying power of this feature is rather difficult to discuss, especially since Reels itself is not a widely rolled out feature, being restricted to certain regions for the time being. That being said, when Instagram head Adam Mosseri declared Reels to be inferior to TikTok and contemplated that changes needed to be made, this being the first of those revamps to show up is a tad tone deaf to it's own actions in the UK.
In other, less disappointing news, Instagram is seemingly testing the ability to block multiple individuals in one go. As spotted by Alessandro Paluzzi, a new plus sign has been added to the Blocked Accounts menu, accessible from one's Privacy details in the Settings tab. Once clicked upon, a Search menu will appear, allowing one to select and accordingly block multiple people at a time, and rather conveniently as well. The feature, however, currently seems to be in the process of A/B testing and is therefore only available on a limited number of devices.
Read next: Instagram Tests The Possible Addition of Vertical Stories To Its Interface
