People thought they could make unkind comments with recourse before discovering users could see who was asking what

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Instagram’s constant kamikaze launch of new features, in which they desperately try to hold on to their sizeable but fickle user-base by throwing new story modes and face filters at them, installed an interesting new question and answer function this week.

The feature is similar to sites like Ask.fm and the now-defunct Formspring, where users could ask anonymous questions of each other, with the answers made public. Some people used these sites to secretly tell someone they had a crush on them, or ask something they’d be too frightened to say in public, but they also became hotbeds of high school bullying and were blamed for a spate of suicides.

Is Instagram changing the way we design the world? Read more

The big difference with Instagram’s version of the feature, is that the questions aren’t anonymous, you can see which of your followers asked it – although this isn’t made explicit. In fact Instagram confuses users by telling them that if their question is shared, their username won’t be displayed.

It’s true that if the person you’re sending a question to decides to share your question publicly, your username is removed. However, what is not made clear is that the recipient is still able to see your username.

This has led to quite a few people mistakenly believing that they are asking questions anonymously. Twitter was awash with disaster stories from people who thought they could get away with incognito behaviour:

esma (@kingjhopee) Smh if I knew those instagram question thingy aren’t anonymous earlier I called someone “kürbiskopf” means pumpkin head in german

Henry (@HenryOr_) Yo I didn’t know those ig questions weren’t anonymous and I told someone their head was shaped like an almond

ciara||mutuals pinned if unf (@adoptingbailey) I THOUGHT THE INSTAGRAM QUESTIONS WERE ANONYMOUS SO I TOLD A GIRL HER DOG WAS UGLY FJCKSKSJKDKDJCKSIAODKCJS

Woke (@marua_yo) would have been nice to know that the instagram questions weren’t Anonymous before i called my bro’s girlfriend ugly

chantelle 🦋 (@chantellchitura) Turns out this Instagram questions thingy isn't anonymous 😭😭😭 I cannot show my face at school after what I've just done 💔💔💔

anna (@anna_hawersaat) Didn’t realize that the Instagram question thing wasn’t anonymous, so I accidentally asked my secret nemesis “Why are you such a bitch” yikes.

Fortunately for users worried about falling into a similar trap, the question feature is customisable. So while most people are using it for the default “Ask me a question” at the moment, in the future it could be used for less dangerous requests like “Where’s a good place to go for a beer in Chicago?”, “Can anyone recommend a plumber?” or “Does anyone know how to delete Instagram after I accidentally told all my friends their babies were ugly?”