Brazil, 1985. 20th Century Fox
It’s time to get out the nose contour and lip-liner, because plastic surgery filters are leaving Instagram. Up until now, what used to demand the expertise of an experienced Photoshop user or licensed doctor, could be achieved in a few seconds through the augmented reality filters on Instagram. Spark AR, the platform that creates effects for the app, as well as allowing users to create their own filters, released a statement this week regarding the update on Facebook.
“We want Spark AR effects to be a positive experience and are re-evaluating our existing policies as they relate to well-being,” the post reads. The company, whose Instagram Effect Gallery is accessed by roughly one billion users, claim they “will remove all effects from the [effects] gallery associated with plastic surgery, stop further approval of new effects like this and remove current effects if they’re reported to us.” Exactly how this process will be regulated remains somewhat unclear.
The policy follows rising apprehension over the rapid popularity of filters like ‘Plastica’ and ‘FixMe’, which make people look as though they’ve had lip injections, fillers or face lifts. However, these effects mirror the process of surgery, and not necessarily the final result. FixMe filter creator, Daniel Mooney, spoke to the BBC about the ban, claiming that his filter was “only ever supposed to be a critique of plastic surgery, showing how unglamorous the process is with the markings and bruising,” adding that, “as long as some of the most-followed accounts on Instagram are of heavily surgically ‘improved’ people, removing surgery filters won’t really change that much.”
While it is debatable whether or not “unglamorous” bruising would deter people from considering surgical procedures, Mooney makes another interesting point: removing these filters won’t change anything overnight, especially when it remains uncertain how effectively the ban will be implemented. While filters like FixMe or Plastica create obvious renditions of surgical effects, others that lighten or smooth skin, or make jawlines and noses appear slimmer, will surely be harder to regulate.
This move follows new restrictions announced in September that will limit, and in some cases ban, weight-loss and cosmetic-surgery ads from the platform. Amidst growing evidence of the harmful effects of social media and the content that it promotes, it seems as though Instagram’s policy makers are tentatively taking the baby steps required to protect the mental health of its users.