New Instagram Safety Features to Safeguard Teens from Sextortion 

On Thursday, the Instagram safety features were introduced to protect users from sextortion, particularly teenagers. 

Some of the key Instagram safety features include preventing users from taking screenshots or even screen record images and videos that are set to be viewed or played once, as this feature has been commonly used online blackmail practices. 

No More Screenshots and Screen Recording 

The latest update to safety features on Instagram blocks the ability to capture private content sent in Instagram’s “view once” or “allow replay” modes. The feature, available since last year on the mobile application, extends now to the web version as part of broader efforts by Meta to protect teens from being tricked into sharing explicit material. 

In a blogpost, Meta also said it’s releasing permanent Instagram safety features that were previously tested to safeguard against sextortion. These include blurring nude images when they’re sent in direct messages and concealing followers and following lists from accounts suspected of sextortion. 

Addressing a Growing Threat 

Sextortion prevention is a key focus point for social media platforms as scammers target victims, especially in the case of teenage boys, manipulating them into sending intimate images and then blackmailing them.  

In March, the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation, reported that 91% of the sextortion cases registered last year involved boys. To play their part in sextortion prevention, social companies like Instagram are pushing hard on privacy and security features, such as blocking the ability to screenshot or screen record private content.  

Law enforcement agencies of various countries have submitted complaints regarding the rising number of scams related to sextortion on social media platforms.  

To address the issue, Meta has taken more robust measures on privacy controls, especially for users who are under 18. Stricter default settings for teen accounts have been added, including parental supervision options for younger users. 

Mixed Opinions 

According to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) the latest features introduced by Meta were “step in the right direction”. 

However, some experts believe that the new Instagram safety features do not fully resolve the growing issue and that more could be done.  

Richard Collard, the associate head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said that “questions remain as to why Meta are not rolling out similar protections on all their products, including on WhatsApp where grooming and sextortion also take place at scale”. 

Concerns around Instagram safety for teens have pushed discussions between parents and child safety advocates. Some say, on the contrary, that such tools are valuable but burden parents and teens with too much responsibility to identify the threats themselves.  

Companies must take full responsibility for ensuring children’s safety online, rather than leaving this burden to families, Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of UK regulator Ofcom, told BBC. 

Meta is enhancing safety settings for Instagram for teens by launching a new campaign to raise awareness around sextortion to teach teens and parents to see warning signs.  

“We have put in built-in protections so that parents do not have to do a thing to try and protect their teens,” Antigone Davis, Meta’s global head of safety, told the BBC while acknowledging that scammers in sextortion are always looking to get around safety features. 

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