The safety of minors on the internet has been a major concern for parents since the internet has existed. The rise of social media has also made children increasingly more vulnerable to predators online. To combat this, Instagram recently announced that it would ban adults from DMing children on the app. (1)
Instagram To Ban Adults From DMing Children
Instagram is working to make its app safer for younger users. One way they are doing this is by preventing adults that young users don’t know from DMing children. Adults will not be able to send private messages to anyone under the age of 18 that the child does not follow on the app. Furthermore, young users will be shown safety prompts when messaging anyone the app deems as ‘suspicious.’ (1)
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How It Works
If an adult on Instagram – anyone over the age of 18 – tries to DM (direct message) a minor that does not follow them, they will receive a message from Instagram telling them this is not an option. (1)
“This feature relies on our work to predict peoples’ ages using machine learning technology, and the age people give us when they sign up. As we move to end-to-end encryption, we’re investing in features that protect privacy and keep people safe without accessing the content of DMs.” Instagram said in a blog post about the updates. (1)
Instagram will also send teen and young users messages that encourage them to be cautious when messaging with adult users that they have messaged with in the past.
“Safety notices in DMs will notify young people when an adult who has been exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior is interacting with them in DMs,” they explain. “For example, if an adult is sending a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18, we’ll use this tool to alert the recipients within their DMs and give them an option to end the conversation, or block, report, or restrict the adult.” (1)
Instagram is now giving minors the automatic option to choose a private versus public account when signing up. This includes messaging that encourages the user to choose private so they can have a safer experience on the app. (1)
Not DMing Children, Only The Beginning
Instagram says they commit to all of their users’ safety, particularly the younger ones. They are currently exploring ways to make it more difficult for suspicious adults to find teenage users’ accounts. (1)
“This may include things like restricting these adults from seeing teen accounts in ‘Suggested Users’, preventing them from discovering teen content in Reels or Explore, and automatically hiding their comments on public posts by teens.” they wrote. (1)
Teens who choose public accounts will continue to receive notifications about the benefits of having a private Instagram account. (1)
“This is just a first step,” they said. “We’re assessing additional measures we can take to protect young people on Instagram, including additional privacy settings. We’ll have more to share in the coming months.” (1)
Everyone Is Entitled To A Safe Experience on Instagram
Preventing unknown adults from DMing children is just one avenue Instagram is exploring to protect their youngest users. While they do have a minimum age requirement of 13 to hold an account, they are still working on the complex problem of verifying that the user is being honest. (1)
“We believe that everyone should have a safe and supportive experience on Instagram,” they wrote. “These updates are a part of our ongoing efforts to protect young people, and our specialist teams will continue to invest in new interventions that further limit inappropriate interactions between adults and teens.” (1)
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Source
- “Continuing to Make Instagram Safer for the Youngest Members of Our Community.” Instagram. March 16, 2021.