Instagram has unveiled three new tools this week to improve account transparency.

The photo sharing app - which is owned by Facebook - has made a number of changes in a bid to make things such as data usage and account verification clearer for its users.

As reported by CNET, these include two-factor authentication via third-party apps, as well as access to more information about other accounts through an 'About the Account' feature.

There will also be a new verification request form - found under settings - which will let users apply for a blue verified badge in a similar vein to Twitter's own system, although a request doesn't guarantee being successfully verified.

These changes will make it easier for users to be sure of the authenticity of other accounts, and Instagram noted in a blog post it will also help you know if you're actually interacting with an authentic profile of a public figure, rather than a fake account.

The company's co-founder and chief technology officer Mike Krieger wrote: "As the CTO of Instagram, keeping people with bad intentions off our platform is incredibly important to me.

"That means trying to make sure the people you follow and the accounts you interact with are who they say they are, and stopping bad actors before they cause harm."