Instagram Is Cracking Down On Direct Messaging
The Instagram DM is a Wild West of unsolicited messages, harrowing images, and chat groups that leave you wondering just how such people found you on the platform. The platform has been relatively mute in terms of security and safety regulations surrounding direct messaging, but having now seen the writing on the wall in terms of the safety of its users, Instagram has announced it will introduce new policies that limit interactions between teenagers and adults to ensure young users are protected.
Under these new policies, adults will be banned from direct messaging teenagers who don’t follow them, and will also introduce “safety prompts” that will be shown to teens when they DM adults who have been “exhibiting potentially suspicious behaviour.”
These safety prompts will give teenage users the option to report or block adults who are messaging them, reminding young users not to feel pressured to respond to messages to “be careful sharing photos, videos or information with someone you don’t know.”
As The Verge reports, “Notices will appear when Instagram’s moderation systems spot suspicious behaviour from adult users. The company is not sharing detail on how these systems operate but says such suspicious behaviour could include sending “a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18.” The Facebook-owned Instagram says this feature will be available in some countries this month (it did not specify which) and available globally ‘soon’.”
The platform is also looking to develop new artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to better detect someone’s age when signing up for an account. Typically, the app requires users to be aged 13 and above, but there’s not really any protocols in place to stop those who are under age to sign up – basically, anyone can lie about their age. The company has revealed it is seeking to stop this from happening, but hasn’t divulged just how they’d go about doing that.
It’s also said that teen users who join Instagram will be encouraged to make their profile private. Should they create a public account, Instagram will send them a notification later “highlighting the benefits of a private account and reminding them to check their settings.”
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