Instagram Is Pumping The Breaks On Filters That Mimic Plastic Surgery
Say goodbye to that filter that makes it look like your face has been encased in Saran Wrap. Instagram has announced it’s removing a number of filters that simulate the effects of plastic surgery in order to “promote healthier and more realistic body image ideas”, according to Us Weekly. Spark AR, the company that creates the filters for Instagram, posted a statement on Facebook (which owns Instagram) saying they would be “removing all effects associated with plastic surgery from the Instagram Effect Gallery” and “postponing approval” of any new apps that serve the same function. This is obviously great news for humanity, and terrible news for the Kardashians.
It sounds like Facebook might be using Instagram as a testing ground for pretending to actually care about people’s concerns about their platform. Recently, Instagram made the decision to address concerns about the shilling of weight-loss products and changed their policies regarding sponsored posts. Now this. Us Weekly reports:
In a Facebook statement from the company that creates Instagram Story filters, Spark AR, it was announced that the Effect Gallery will get rid of those filters that deliver the effect having gone under the knife.
There are filters like Plastica that actually mimic how your face would look thanks to cosmetic surgeries, while FixMe shows how a surgeon would mark up a person’s face before operating.
Funny, whenever I’ve tried one of those filters there is no discernible change. But I guess not everybody has a naturally flawless complexion, perfectly symmetrical features, and freckles in the exact size and shape of the the Louis Vuitton logo. It’s sad how many people are actually ugly, and I’m sorry for them. Here’s what I saw when I looked in the mirror this morning. #NoFilter
this is rlly how some bitches be looking with instagram face filters pic.twitter.com/ZOcwD2A8Dx
— ☽ (@flovverdose) October 23, 2019
Again, this is great news because I will have very little competition being the most glamorous natural beauty on the internet. But the man who created the FixMe filter isn’t so happy about it.
While Facebook seems to see these filters as potentially problematic, the filter’s creator Daniel Mooney is less convinced. “FixMe was only ever supposed to be a critique of plastic surgery, showing how unglamorous the process is with the markings and bruising,” he told BBC. “I can see where Instagram is coming from, but for 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.”
But Mr. FixMe man, mightn’t it change a little? It seems like if removing these filters can stop just one young person from becoming the next Jocelyn Wildenstein by harvesting the ears and noses off hundreds of innocent puppies to use in their bizarre vivisection experiments, won’t it be worth it?
Spark AR said they are “not able to provide exact timing on the new policy rollout” so you still have some time to see what you’d look like if you weren’t naturally blessed like I am, instead of having pores big enough to drive a semi-truck into.
Pic: Instagram