Instagram Officially Bans Those Shoddy Plastic Surgery Filters

Instagram have announced that they’ll be getting rid of all face-altering filters that promote plastic surgery.

The social media platform has taken action amid concerns that certain filters within the application could exacerbate or even cause body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

The company that designs Instagram’s filters, Spark AR, have released a statement saying they’ll no longer be creating “all effects associated with plastic surgery” as part of their new "well-being policies."

A spokesperson for Facebook confirmed the move yesterday, stating: “We’re re-evaluating our policies – we want AR effects to be a positive experience for people. While we’re re-evaluating, we will remove all effects associated with plastic surgery from the Instagram Effect Gallery; stop further approval of new effects like this; and remove current effects if they’re reported to us.”

 

 

 

 

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let’s talk about skin care

A post shared by mr queen (@kingprincess69) on Aug 31, 2019 at 1:36pm PDT

It seems likely that Instagram will be targeting user-created face filters more than anything else, particularly the popular ‘Plastica’ filter which gives people an instant brow lift and lip fillers. 

Their own filters – including the popular dog-face design – are unlikely to be impacted by the ban.

This comes after the platform implemented new restrictions for posts that endorse weight-loss and diet products. Just recently, Instagram announced that under 18s would no longer see the promotions on their feed.

The move to ban plastic surgery-themed filters is clearly a step in the right direction and is another example of the app attempting to reduce the pressure that some people might feel on social media.

Main Image Credit: Amy Humphries on Unsplash

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