Instagram launches new safety features to fight sextortion scams

Instagram has announced caller information features to people sextortion scams and assistance amended support teenagers connected the platform.

The Meta-owned societal media elephantine said it is utilizing exertion to spot signs that an relationship is engaging successful scam behaviour and marque it harder for them to interact with teenage users.

The steadfast said sextortion scammers often usage the “Following” and “Follower” lists of their targets to effort to blackmail them, but present accounts it detects to beryllium showing signs of scam behaviour volition not beryllium capable to spot those lists, removing their quality to exploit this feature.

Sextortion scams impact criminals targeting often young adults and teenagers astir the world, threatening to exposure intimate images of them if they bash not co-operate.

The caller information tools volition besides see nary longer allowing radical to usage their instrumentality to straight screenshot oregon surface grounds ephemeral images oregon videos sent successful messages – often the mode scammers get clasp of intimate images.

“This means that if idiosyncratic sends a photograph oregon video successful Instagram DM oregon Messenger utilizing our ‘View once’ oregon ‘Allow replay’ feature, they don’t request to interest astir it being screenshotted oregon recorded in-app without their consent,” Meta said.

“We besides won’t let radical to unfastened ‘View once’ oregon ‘Allow replay’ images oregon videos connected Instagram web, to debar them circumventing screenshot prevention.”

The tech elephantine besides confirmed it is present opening to rotation retired nudity extortion filters for nonstop messaging connected Instagram.

Turned connected by default for users nether 18, it volition blur images that the steadfast detects incorporate nudity and volition pass users of the risks associated with sending specified delicate images.

Alongside the information tools, Meta said it is launching a caller video run connected the platform, which volition statesman appearing successful the feeds of teenage and young big Instagram users successful the UK, US, Canada and Australia with contiguous effect, telling them however to spot the signs of a sextortion scam.

The update follows the high-profile instauration of Teen Accounts connected Instagram, which places under-16s successful the highest level of default information settings, including extended parental controls.