Get the latest tech news

Meta’s new opt-out setting limits visibility of politics on Instagram and Threads

PSA: it’s time to check your Instagram settings.

Meta has framed this new setting as being good for user choice, and the company says it isn’t limiting the reach of political content from accounts people choose to follow. While the change was first announced in early February, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed to The Verge that it began widely rolling out last week. So, there you have it: Meta doesn’t want the blowback that comes from its role in actively surfacing political content, which it defines as posts about “governments,” “elections,” and “social topics” — an ambiguous term that is likely intended to give lots of wiggle room for what can be included in this policy.

Get the Android app