Meta-backed social media platform Instagram revealed on Thursday that it is testing new features to protect users from sextortion and other forms of “intimate image abuse”. The company said it will soon roll out a nudity protection feature in Instagram DMs, which will automatically detect images containing nudity and encourage people to “think twice” before sending nude images.
Meta said the new feature will use on-device machine learning to analyse nude images sent through Instagram DMs. What’s more, the Menlo Park, California-based company said that because these images will be analysed on the device itself, Meta won’t have access to the images unless someone chooses to report them.
The new feature aims to protect people from financial sextortion – a phenomenon in which predators force victims to send their sexually explicit photos and videos, then demand payment or threaten to post the images online.
How will Nudity Protection feature work?
Nudity protection will be turned on by default for under-18s worldwide, while adults will receive a notification encouraging them to turn it on.
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Once the feature is turned on, people sending images with nudity will receive a reminder to be “cautious” when sending sensitive photos and users will have the option to unsend these images if they change their mind later. When sending these images, users will also be directed to Meta’s safety tips, reminding them that someone may screenshot or forward these images, or that their relationship with the recipient may change in the future.
The feature will also protect users from seeing unwanted nudity in their DMs by blurring images that contain nudity and placing them under a warning screen. Meta will also display a message to users encouraging them not to feel pressured to respond, as well as an option to block the sender and report the chat.
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Published: 11 Apr 2024, 04:18 PM IST