Instagram adding new filters and dropping fake followers

Instagram is getting organized. Instagram users have been dealing with the same group of filters for the past two years since the last time any new ones were added. The new filters added on Dec. 16 are called: Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Perpetua, and Aden.

When the original Instagram filters were initially created for the app four years ago, they were designed around phones that had lower quality cameras. As the cameras and screens of cell phones have gotten better and better over the past couple years, some of the Instagram filters have fallen out of sync in their intensity. The new group of filters were designed to match the current state of phone camera quality with the intention of being a little more subtle in their filtering.

Instagram took to their blog to update the user community of the changes: “Photography trends have evolved, and the capabilities of the camera on your phone have vastly improved. We’ve seen tremendous creativity within the community, not only in the moments they share, but in the time spent carefully composing and editing photos and videos to bring out emotions and make them beautiful.”

In addition to the new filters, users can now organize the filters by clicking a manage button and dragging the filters into their desired spots. No more tedious swiping to get that favorite filter option. There is even the option to completely hide filters if a user is certain they will never want to look at it again. How the filters are displayed will also look a little different, since a preview of the filter will be applied to the photo, removing the need to back step if the chosen filter is all wrong.

In addition to Instagram making changes to their filter usability, the app is also doing their part to eliminate fake user accounts that are often used to inflate the number of followers that users appear to have. Fake accounts might also be called ghost accounts or spammers, and in the past registered as valid users but are inactive. A user account might be flagged as a flake if it has had limited or no activity since it was created.

Many people have gotten in the habit of purchasing these fake Instagram followers which creates issues that go beyond general popularity contests, as many people use their Instagram accounts to get jobs. For example, when a fashion blogger is hired by a company to promote their goods, part of the worth is calculated by their followers. If they have been inflating their follower count, then they have been exaggerating their worth.

In other circumstances companies have been intentionally purchasing fake followers to up their image, of which they might spend anywhere from a few bucks to $10,000 a month to maintain. The importance of social media on a company’s presence can be huge these days, and the revealing of dishonest Instagram accounts can make a company seem dishonest as well.

One company called YTView.com generates fake followers and likes for social media accounts and boasts over 50,000 clients, so it is not just a few people who been trying to work around the system. Instagram sent out an automated message to it’s users warning that the follower counts may decrease as they continue to clean up spam accounts.

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Comments

Leave a Reply to NO Genesis 2.0 Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *