There are some new features in Instagram that can make it safer, less irritating and more fun to use. Have you updated to the latest version of the app? Here are the new features you need to know about.

Block bad language

Some people use bad language in their comments and they can even be abusive. It used to be a major irritation and it was hard to avoid. You often see abusive comments and bad language in comments to celebs who have huge numbers of followers, but it can happen to anyone.

People can suffer from bullying through the comments to their Instagram posts. Now you can block them.

Open the Instagram app and go to your profile page.

Tap the menu button in the corner and press Comments in the Settings section.

Turn on the switch, Hide Inappropriate Comments.

There is also a Custom Keywords section where you can enter additional words. For example, if someone keeps calling you an idiot, you could add the word ‘idiot’ to the Custom Keywords list. Separate words by commas.

Any comments containing bad language or your custom words will be hidden.

Colour your text

When adding text to an Instagram story, there is now a row of colour buttons above the text. Tap a colour to instantly change the text colour.

What you may not realise is that if you press and hold a colour circle, you get the full palette on the screen and you can select any colour from it.

Story editing

Talking of stories, do you know how to delete one? If you start a story and decide that you do not want it, tap the story button in the top left corner of your feed and while the story is playing, press the menu button in the bottom right corner. It might be hard to see depending on what is on the screen, but it is there and it displays a menu with a delete option at the top.

If you have several photos or videos in a story and you want to remove one, play the story and when the item comes on the screen, press the menu button in the bottom right corner. The menu allows it to be deleted. When the last one is gone, the whole story is deleted.