After witnessing several cases of suicide, depression, and issues related to "sexual extortion" among teenagers whose nude images were leaked on Instagram, the popular app has taken action. Instagram has started an important step to contain these problems by automatically detecting and blurring nude photos in users' direct messages.
The platform plans to send warnings to users who receive nude images via direct messages. A pop-up window will inform them on how to block the sender or report the conversation, along with a note encouraging the recipient not to feel pressured to respond. Furthermore, individuals attempting to send a nude image through direct messages will be advised to exercise caution and will receive a reminder that they can unsend the photo.
Meta, Instagram's parent company, has clarified that this new feature—set to be tested in the coming weeks and expected to roll out globally in the next few months—will be activated by default for accounts that indicate their birth dates correspond to teenagers. However, teens will have the option to disable this feature if they wish, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, it appears that Meta does not plan to implement these warnings on its other applications, such as WhatsApp or Messenger.
