Instagram testing features to combat sextortion, blurring nude messages

Social media giant Meta introduced a setting for Instagram direct messages on Thursday that detects and shields intimate pictures sent between users. The feature will protect users from unsolicited messages containing nudity and caution those sending nude images with the option to un-send them. The blur feature is currently available only on Instagram and not on other properties owned by Meta Platforms, such as Facebook. According to the company, the new feature aims to combat sextortion by scammers.

What is sextortion? Scammers on social media have been known to send nude images to other users, hoping to trick people into sending their own images. Scammers then use those sensitive images against users as leverage for extortion, according to the FBI. Sextortion scammers will often threaten to release the photos online.

What exactly will the feature do? The blurring feature won’t completely stop messages from being exchanged. Instead, the photo will have a dark filter overtop, informing the recipient of nudity and allowing them the option to look. The app also reminds users not to feel pressured to respond and gives them a direct option to block the account and report the chat. The app will identify nude images at the device level, and Meta won’t have access to the images unless the encrypted user-to-user chats are reported, according to an Instagram blog post.

The feature will also:

• Automatically send messages containing nudity from unknown accounts into a spam box.

• Remind users to exercise general caution because nude images could be screenshotted and shared.

• Be automatically enacted around the world for teens under 18. 

• Be encouraged for use by adult users.

For more information: Read Mary Jackson’s report in WORLD Magazine about a teen boy who committed suicide as a result of sextortion.