Meta has outlined some new steps to help protect users, and especially teens from online scammers who engage in sextortion scams. One of the main new features is nudity protection in DMs so people don’t have to see unsolicited pictures from contacts or strangers.
Meta said that it will soon start testing the new nudity protection feature in Instagram DMs. The tool aims to detect images containing nudity to blur them. It also asks people to think twice before sending nude images as they can be abused by bad actors.
The company said that the feature is aimed at protecting people from seeing unsolicited nudes, it will also protect against scammers who might try to send nude images to trick people into sending their own images in return.
This new feature will be enabled by default for teens under 18 globally and adults will receive a notification encouraging them to turn it on too.
The feature will warn you to take care when sharing sensitive photos and explain that others can screenshot or forward your photos without you knowing. It will also let you know that you can unsend a photo if you change your mind but there’s a chance others will have already seen it.
In addition to the mentioned safety tip, Meta will also warn people who attempt to share nudes to reconsider their actions, warning that sharing someone’s sensitive photos may go against the Community Guidelines or be illegal. It also asks that they be respectful and consider what others may do with the image,
Meta said that it bans accounts of known sextortioners. If a user has interacted with one of these sextortion accounts, they will get a pop-up message letting them know with links to expert-backed resources if they need support.
To help other companies fight this scourge, the company said it will send more sextortion-specific signals through the Lantern program which sees tech companies collaborate to disrupt criminal activity across platforms.
Source: Meta