Instagram Uses AI To Restrict Predatory Messaging

Recently, Instagram announced a new feature that will affect how adults can send DMs with minors. This change aims to make teenagers feel safer while using the platform, hoping to encourage more teenage users to join. Instagram will also encourage new teenage users to keep their accounts private to limit the number of people accessing their profiles.

Instagram will implement this regulation by using AI and machine learning tools to detect someone’s age, working around the details they provided while signing up for the app, considering that some users lie about their age. 

Similarly, It will study individual adult behavior on the app. Those who have suspicious activity may be restricted a little more in terms of the outreach actions that Instagram provides.  

One of the actions that will be monitored is the number of messages and follow requests that someone sends within a given period. 

Whenever an adult they don’t follow sends them a message, teenagers will be given prompts to block, report, or restrict the user, alleviating any potential pressure they may feel to respond to or entertain the user. 

These changes will be launched in some countries this month and will later get to the rest of the world soon after. Instagram, however, didn’t indicate the pioneering countries, although everyone on the platform should see these new changes in the next few months. 

These changes will benefit teenagers significantly, especially those who have been getting lots of messages from adults they don’t know. Young girls have been the most affected by such behaviors, as the platform works to resolve the issue that many of their young users are facing today.

From another standpoint, It will also encourage parents to let their kids use Instagram over other social apps that don’t have similar privacy/safety features. By accommodating the needs of a more extensive demographic, Instagram is working to become the declarative most prominent platform in the world. 

These changes are a win-win for both Instagram and any user that doesn’t have ill intentions on the platform. Similarly, we could also see the new features become an option for adults that want to restrict people they don’t follow from spamming them with messages.