Meta expands its strike removal feature to Instagram and all Facebook users

Meta is expanding its feature that helps users avoid “Facebook jail.” Earlier this year, the company began allowing Facebook creators to complete in-app “educational training” for first-time rule violations in order to avoid strikes on their accounts. Now, the company is to all Facebook users and opening it up to creators on Instagram.

As Engadget noted back , the idea of the feature is a bit like going to traffic school. People who violate one of the company’s rules for the first time will have the option to complete a “a short educational program” in Facebook or Instagram’s app in order to avoid a “strike” on their account and any restrictions that may come with it.

Users will be able to take advantage of the process once in a 12-month period for most first-time offenses. The process to “remove the warning” on an account will be available to anyone on Facebook, as well as creators on Instagram (a broader rollout for Instagram is expected “soon,” according to the company.) Meta won’t allow people to remove strikes for more “serious” offenses, including posts about sexual exploitation or drug sales.

Meta has described the strike-removal feature as part of its effort to reform its penalty system, which has long been frustrating and confusing for users who often get caught up in it unintentionally. In a blog post, Meta said that the in-app education features have already shown some signs of success with Facebook creators. “What we’ve already seen from our initial launch this summer has been promising — those who successfully removed their first strikes for violating a policy were more likely to say they understood Facebook’s policy decisions and became less likely to violate that policy again,” the company said.