Meta To Introduce Nudity Blurring Feature On Instagram DMs To Protect Teens

(RTTNews) - Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), the parent company of Instagram, has announced that it is testing new features on the social media platform to protect young users from unwanted nudity or sextortion scams.

One of the most significant features is the "Nudity Protection in DMs," which automatically blurs images containing nudity, making them less explicit for teenage recipients.

The filter will automatically detect and blur nude images, encouraging users to think twice before sending and providing resources on sending sensitive images safely online. The nudity filter will be activated by default for users under 18, and adults will receive a notification to turn it on.

The company has also increased data sharing with the child safety program, Lantern, to include more signals related to sextortion, a scam that targets children or teenagers by soliciting sexual material and extorting money from them.

In addition to this, Meta will prompt teens to rethink sharing intimate images to avoid falling victim to scammers who use nude images for manipulation. The company is implementing changes to make it harder for scammers to target teens. Meta is developing advanced technology to identify accounts potentially involved in sextortion and will restrict their interactions. Pop-up messages will guide users who have engaged with removed accounts for sextortion to relevant resources.

The rollout will be gradual, starting with testing over the next few weeks and a global rollout over the next few months. However, it is worth noting that Meta does not plan to extend these protections to Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.