Instagram is looking to provide its users with more transparency by providing an in-app Account Status dashboard that will indicate whether your content is eligible to be recommended by its various systems, and will also provide pointers on how to rectify any issues on this front. This could prove extremely useful for creators.
Users will notice a yellow alert in their Account Status display if there’s a flag on their content. They can tap through to learn more, which will display a sample of posts that could be in violation of Instagram’s rules along with an explanation of why they may be in violation of platform policy.
Here’s an overview of the new process from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, who’s beaming in from IG’s London HQ.
This move towards transparency for its users comes after years of speculation on ‘shadowbans’ on the platform. In the past, users have speculated that the platform may have secretly banned their content from viewers by limiting exposure and engagement. In reality, users very well could be ineligible for recommendations and never know it. Now, users can be sure their content is or is not flagged and reconsider their content instead of blaming the platform for low engagement.
And if everything is, then it’s just your content that’s not resonating. Which is a problem in itself, but not a technical one at least.
This new feature is part of Instagram’s Account Status dashboard, which it first launched last October. Instagram says that all users should now have access to the option, which will now also include these new notifications of potential violations.
