A Brazilian soccer fan takes a selfie as she watches the match between Brazil and Cameroon which was broadcast on a large screen at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro
A Brazilian soccer fan takes a selfie as she watches the match being played in Brasilia between Brazil and Cameroon, which was broadcast on a large screen at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, June 23, 2014. REUTERS

Instagram apparently does not mind if girls post half-naked selfies on its Web site, provided its users find their bodies "attractive." If users find a female body "offensive" because she is "fat," the image-sharing Web site will delete the image and suspend the account. At least, that is exactly what it did for Samm Newman.

The 19-year-old was told that she had violated "community guidelines" by posting a number of selfies which depicted her in her underwear. This is not the first time a girl posted an underwear-selfie on Instagram but Samm's "fault" was that she happened to be a U.S. size 24. It was as if telling the teenager: "Go! Work out and then come back to Instagram." Samm found her account deleted while her photos had also been removed.

There are hundreds of photos on Instagram that show girls in their bras and briefs. While the idea of having a "normal" body differs from person to person, one may wonder if Instagram has a separate "code of conduct" for those who have a thinner body that its users find more "entertaining." According to Samm, the bra and the briefs she was wearing in those photos could not violate the community guidelines of the Web site.

Here is what Instagram says about the "rules" of posting photos. It asks users to keep clothes on and to be respectful. Instagram asks its users to share photos and videos which are "safe for people of all ages." It discourages its users from posting "nudity or mature content." If any user does so, the content gets disabled, and the user may not be able to access the Web site.

After the U.S. media widely covered Samm's story, Instagram apologised for its "mistake." Some users on Instagram apparently flagged Samm's photos as "inappropriate." That was why the Web site took the decision to suspend her account. It said that the account was "wrongly removed." It also mentioned that the error would be rectified at the earliest possibility.

HERE is Samm's selfie which some users found "inappropriate," and here is a slideshow of some photos which Instagram finds "safe for people of all ages."

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au