Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram announced Thursday some new anti-bullying features the company hopes will drastically reduce abuse on the platform.

In a blog post, the company said it has invested heavily over the years in artificial intelligence that can sometimes spot abuse after it happens. It hasn’t always been enough, though, and Instagram has found itself under pressure amid reports that teens are “constantly” bullied on the platform.

In a case this year, a British teenager took her own life after being bullied on Instagram. Instagram head Adam Mosseri admitted that the service can do more to prevent bullying.

As a result, Instagram has decided to add a novel new feature which asks people if they are really sure they want to add a comment as they are writing it. AI will spot a potentially abusive message and then ask the writers to rethink regarding what they are saying, with Instagram calling this a kind of technological “intervention.”

“From early tests of this feature, we have found that it encourages some people to undo their comment and share something less hurtful once they have had a chance to reflect,” wrote Mosseri.

After listening to feedback from users, Instagram has learned that a lot of young users are reluctant to block or unfollow bullies because of the implications in real life. Block on a bully online, and the consequences might be dire in the classroom of elsewhere.

The solution to that, said Mosseri, was a kind of shadow blocking. “Soon, we will begin testing a new way to protect your account from unwanted interactions called Restrict,” he wrote. “Once you Restrict someone, comments on your posts from that person will only be visible to that person.”

A restricted person’s comments can be made visible to other people if that is approved by the account holder, while those people who are restricted won’t be able to see when the account holder is active on Instagram or if that person has read messages.

“It’s our responsibility to create a safe environment on Instagram,” Mosseri said. “This has been an important priority for us for some time, and we are continuing to invest in better understanding and tackling this problem.”

Image: DerekMaguire/Flickr