Safer Internet day falls every year on 8th February. In the year 2022, where Internet safety has become a prima facie criteria of using a social media platform (barring a few market dominators!), on the occasion of Safer Internet Day, we present you the best safety features for Instagram and YouTube.
These features not only save you from hackers, but also contribute to your mental well being.
Let’s start with the most loved social platform – Instagram.
Safer Internet Day : Instagram Safety features
LIMITS
This feature automatically hides comments and DM requests from people who don’t follow you, or only recently started following you. This feature can be turned on in the privacy settings on the Instagram app.
HIDDEN WORDS
This is meant to safeguard you from unwanted DM’s. Instagram’s Hidden Words feature allows you to filter any unwanted, spammy or abusive DM requests. It also automatically filters offensive words, phrases, and emojis into a hidden folder.
MANAGE LIKE COUNTS
In a world where the credibility of an account is judged by the number of followers on the account, many Instagram users, specially businesses have gone down the route of purchasing followers! Seems cool, isn’t it? However, there seems to be a big problem – Fake followers are bots and they do not engage with your content. So, there’s this mental relief feature – You can hide like counts from your Instagram posts.
Instagram never created this feature thinking that fake follower accounts would have the luxury of hiding engagement. This feature was created for youth to not fall into the trap of the flamboyant, yet hollow life on social media.
TAKE A BREAK
Take a Break will alert users scrolling on Instagram to periodically take breaks from the platform and focus on other things. The platform will also alert users of the new inclusion with a notification. Instagram also shows expert-backed tips to help reflect and reset. To inform teens about this feature, Instagram shows notifications suggesting people to turn on these reminders.
BLOCK
Probably, the most well known and most used feature! It enables you to block unwanted profiles from stalking your instagram profile. The account that you blocked won’t be able to see or comment on your posts, Stories, Reels, and Live broadcasts. Notably, Instagram does not tell people when they’ve been blocked, or who has blocked them, and you can unblock an account at any time.
RESTRICT
A milder version of the ‘Block’ feature. Once the Restrict feature is enabled, comments on your posts from a person you have restricted will only be visible to that person. You won’t receive any notifications for comments from a restricted account.
CONTROL COMMENTS
This feature removes any offensive words and phrases and unwanted comments. Instagram also allows you to create your own list of words or emojis that you don’t want to see in the comments section. You can enable this by going to “Filters” in the Comment Controls section.
SAFER INTERNET DAY : YouTube Safety features
TAKE A BREAK
This is something similar to the Instagram feature shared above. If you’re spending too much time on YouTube and want to disconnect for a while, “Bedtime” or “Take a Break” feature, located in your Settings, can prompt you to stop watching videos for the day, either during or after video play.
2 STEP VERIFICATION
This is lie a firewall – an extended layer of security, beyond your password to protect your account. When enabled, a new user trying to log into your account, won’t be able to do so, unless the login is approved by an OTP to the owner, or by a sign-in approval from the app. It’s advisable to turn on two-step Verification, check the strength of your passwords, and manage which third-party apps have access to your account data.
INCOGNITO MODE
Incognito mode lets you browse privately in a session so your account’s search and watch history won’t be carried over to your logged-in account’s search and watch history. However, app that have authorised tracking permissions, would still be able to track your broswsing.
WIDER CHOICES FOR PARENTS
No, that’s not the name of a feature, but, YouTube offers personalised choices for your family. For instance, if you are a parent or caregiver, YouTube offer options and controls to help you decide what kind of YouTube experience is best for your kid. The company launched YouTube Kids to create a safer environment for kids to explore their interests and curiosity, while giving parents the tools to customise the experience.
MANAGE YOUR DATA
This YouTube feature allows you to easily browse, delete or pause your search or watch history. Any videos removed from your history will no longer influence your recommendations, and queries you’ve removed won’t show in your search bar as your history suggestions.
Do try out all these amazing features and let us now how did you find them in the comments section below.
Wish you a safe browsing experience on Safer Internet Day!
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