Instagram Banned Using Peach & Eggplant Emojis In A "Sexual" Way

You might want to save your flirty sexts for iMessage or WhatsApp because Instagram and Facebook's ban on "sexual" emoji use is about to seriously cramp your style. In particular, the eggplant and peach emojis are facing some major heat from the social media networks. Back in July, Facebook quietly updated its Community Standards, which also affect Instagram (Facebook owns IG). While the new terms were posted in July, they weren't actually enacted until September, which is why people are suddenly noticing now.

Basically, the new terms are trying to make it so that nobody (including two consenting adults) can use Facebook or Instagram to plan any sort of "sexual encounters between adults." If you're a fine print person, here's what it legit says:

As noted in Section 8 of our Community Standards (Sexual Exploitation of Adults), people use Facebook to discuss and draw attention to sexual violence and exploitation. We recognize the importance of and want to allow for this discussion. We draw the line, however, when content facilitates, encourages or coordinates sexual encounters between adults.

Part of preventing those sorts of conversations is banning any sort of messages that suggest an offer to ask for sexual encounters. And, yes, using "contextually specific and commonly sexual emojis or emoji strings" can be considered a way of offering to ask for sexual encounters.

To be totally clear here, you're totally allowed to use the eggplant emoji, the peach emoji, and even that licky one. It just becomes an issue when you're trying to use them to secure yourself some nookie. Context matters. “[Content] will only be removed from Facebook and Instagram if it contains a sexual emoji alongside an implicit or indirect ask for nude imagery, sex or sexual partners, or sex chat conversations,” Instagram told The New York Post on Oct. 29, adding that it "[isn't] taking action on simply the emojis."

If you are using the emojis to score some nudes or a bone sesh, XBIZ reports your account can reportedly get either flagged or removed.

So, as I said before, I'd recommend sticking to WhatsApp or iMessage, the next time you're planning some sexy time.