Instagram has introduced a new AI-powered feature that lets users blur people or objects in their Stories, making it easier to hide someone’s identity in a photo.
The tool could be especially useful for the popular dating trend known as a “soft launch,” where users hint at a new relationship without fully revealing their partner.
Instead of carefully positioning someone outside the frame or only showing their hand or the back of their head, users can now intentionally pixelate them.
The feature works through Instagram Stories’ Pixel effect. Users select the effect and enter a prompt describing what they want blurred. For example, Instagram demonstrated the tool by asking AI to make a man in a photo “extremely pixelated,” leaving his presence visible while concealing his identity.
Users can also adjust their prompts to control how strongly someone is blurred, allowing them to reveal as much or as little as they want.
The feature can also be used beyond dating posts, such as hiding photobombers, faces or other unwanted details without needing separate photo-editing software.
Reaction has been mixed. Some users praised the feature as a useful addition, while others questioned whether an AI-powered tool was necessary for something as simple as pixelating part of an image.