Instagram Wants to Stop Adults Sliding Into Teenagers' DMs

Instagram has unveiled a new safety feature that prevents adults from sending messages to teens who aren't following them. And if a teen decides to message an adult that they already follow, Instagram will notify them if that adult has a pattern of interacting with underage users.

Instagram Wants to Limit Conversations Between Teens and Adults

A post on the Instagram blog outlined the new safety tools that the platform is implementing for teenagers.

Most notably, Instagram is putting restrictions on conversations between adults and teens. Adults will receive a notification when they try to message a teen that isn't following them, reading: "You can't message this account unless they follow you."

According to Instagram, this feature uses machine learning to "predict peoples' ages."

The platform will even warn teens when they try to DM an adult who has been "exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior." This targets adults who continually send friend or message requests to users under 18.

When a teen tries to message the adult in question, they'll receive a prompt that gives the teen the option to restrict, block, or report the adult. The message will also tell teens that they shouldn't "feel pressured to respond" to the adult's messages. This feature will be available in "some countries" later this month, and Instagram plans on launching it in other parts of the world as well.

Related: How to Make Your Instagram More Private

Instagram is also trying to encourage teens to make their accounts private. When a user under the age of 18 signs up for an Instagram account, Instagram will give them an option to make their account public or private. In case the teen still chooses a public account, Instagram will display a notification "highlighting the benefits" of having a private account.

Lastly, Instagram is making it more difficult for potential predators to come across teens' accounts on the app. This might mean hiding teens' accounts from an adult's Suggested Users list, as well as preventing content made by teens from appearing in the Reels and Explore pages.

Keeping Teens and Children Safe on Social Media

It's difficult for parents to keep tabs on their child's social media accounts. And since kids often sign up for accounts using an older age, any safety measures that the platform has in place for children won't be active on these accounts. However, Instagram's age-predicting machine learning technology seems promising, as it may finally prevent kids from lying about their ages.

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