The photo and video-sharing social networking platform Instagram has brought in a variety of fresh tools with security and transparency in focus. The company has announced three considerable updates for better security of users.
The three updates include “About this account” section – This section will provide users more context about accounts with large followings. It is a form with the help of which accounts can request a coveted blue verified badge and support for third-party authentication apps.
This feature can be used by tapping the menu button from an account with substantial reach. Then the users can see information like when an account was created, the country in which it is based, accounts that share followers, a lineage of that account’s username changes over the last year.
The next modification will offer accounts a way to verification on the platform, standardizing a process that’s generally been blurred. A blue verified badge can be requested through a user’s own profile by clicking on the menu icon, choosing Settings, and then “Request Verification.”
“We’ve been focused on the safety of our platform since the very beginning, and today’s updates build upon our existing tools, such as our spam and abusive content filters and the ability to report or block accounts,” Instagram Co-Founder & CTO Mike Krieger said.
Another feature that the app is launching is adding support for third-party authentication apps that provide more robust methods of two-factor authentication. This move will make Instagram stronger against threats to user accounts than that of text-based two-factor authentication that is likely vulnerable to sim hijacking attacks.