As much as we may like to complain about it sometimes, social media is a very useful thing. It allows us to keep in touch with our friends, stay up to date with events or shows we may be interested in going along to or following along with, and - if you are so inclined - check-in on that cute person who gave you their Insta handle when you got talking to them at a coffee shop one time.

However, as with pretty much any great invention, it certainly has its flaws. Facebook is always reminding you of that person you regret dating with the "memories" feature, for instance, and Twitter is so often overrun with people posting weak variations of the same 280-character joke over and over again.

And, while there might not yet be a way to ensure that you don't continue to see a million retweets about the Royal Wedding on your feed, there is a way that you can filter out unwanted Insta content.

The people behind the app have finally created a mute button, meaning that you can avoid seeing content from certain accounts without having to unfollow. This is especially useful if you want to avoid spoilers for a recent TV show or movie without having to unfollow everyone involved with it, and also comes in handy for when you're just not in the mood for seeing your friend's 17 #fitspiration posts first thing on a Monday morning.

"When you mute an account, you can still see posts on their profile page and get notified about comments or posts you're tagged in," Instagram said in their latest blog post.

"The accounts you mute will not be aware that you've muted them. You can always unmute an account to get their posts back in your feed.

"To mute an account, tap the ... menu in the corner of the post. From there, you can choose whether to mute posts, or mute posts and stories from an account. You can also mute posts and stories by pressing and holding on a story in your tray, or from a profile."

At present, the new feature is not available to everyone - so don't start throwing a hissy fit if your app doesn't look any different yet. However, a small number of iOS users are currently being used to trial the mute button, so you might have it already if you're an iPhone user.

Once any kinks have been ironed out, the new update should be available universally over the next few weeks.

While, admittedly, it might seem a little strange for a platform based on "following" other people to now allow muting those very same individuals, it does make sense. After all, we're all familiar with the feeling of not wanting to see a particular friend's face for a short while after a disagreement, or perhaps having to impose a little self-restraint when it comes to viewing a certain celebrity's story as soon as they post an update.

All in all, it seems like the bonus feature can only be a good thing. That is until someone works out you've muted them...

Anyway, happy 'gramming everyone!

As much as we may like to complain about it sometimes, social media is a very useful thing. It allows us to keep in touch with our friends, stay up to date with events or shows we may be interested in going along to or following along with, and - if you are so inclined - check-in on that cute person who gave you their Insta handle when you got talking to them at a coffee shop one time.

However, as with pretty much any great invention, it certainly has its flaws. Facebook is always reminding you of that person you regret dating with the "memories" feature, for instance, and Twitter is so often overrun with people posting weak variations of the same 280-character joke over and over again.

And, while there might not yet be a way to ensure that you don't continue to see a million retweets about the Royal Wedding on your feed, there is a way that you can filter out unwanted Insta content.

The people behind the app have finally created a mute button, meaning that you can avoid seeing content from certain accounts without having to unfollow. This is especially useful if you want to avoid spoilers for a recent TV show or movie without having to unfollow everyone involved with it, and also comes in handy for when you're just not in the mood for seeing your friend's 17 #fitspiration posts first thing on a Monday morning.

"When you mute an account, you can still see posts on their profile page and get notified about comments or posts you're tagged in," Instagram said in their latest blog post.

"The accounts you mute will not be aware that you've muted them. You can always unmute an account to get their posts back in your feed.

"To mute an account, tap the ... menu in the corner of the post. From there, you can choose whether to mute posts, or mute posts and stories from an account. You can also mute posts and stories by pressing and holding on a story in your tray, or from a profile."

At present, the new feature is not available to everyone - so don't start throwing a hissy fit if your app doesn't look any different yet. However, a small number of iOS users are currently being used to trial the mute button, so you might have it already if you're an iPhone user.

Once any kinks have been ironed out, the new update should be available universally over the next few weeks.

While, admittedly, it might seem a little strange for a platform based on "following" other people to now allow muting those very same individuals, it does make sense. After all, we're all familiar with the feeling of not wanting to see a particular friend's face for a short while after a disagreement, or perhaps having to impose a little self-restraint when it comes to viewing a certain celebrity's story as soon as they post an update.

All in all, it seems like the bonus feature can only be a good thing. That is until someone works out you've muted them...

Anyway, happy 'gramming everyone!