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No more disturbing content
Instagram has revealed new safeguards to protect teen users, such as extended self-harm content limits, new prompts to switch to more private experiences, and other sophisticated actions.
First and foremost, Instagram says it is taking extra steps to minimize exposure to self-harm-related content due to the detrimental effects it might have on young users.
Instagram Claims:
“Take the example of someone posting about their ongoing struggle with thoughts of self-harm. This is an important story, and can help destigmatize these issues, but it’s a complex topic and isn’t necessarily suitable for all young people. Now, we’ll start to remove this type of content from teens’ experiences on Instagram and Facebook, as well as other types of age-inappropriate content.”
Instagram says it already restricts minors’ access to some self-harm-related recommendations in Reels and Explore. Now, it will also apply to Feed and Stories, even if the content was posted by a profile they follow.
The increased limits are based on advice from child and adolescent health professionals, who have expressed worries about the app’s rate of exposure and its effects on vulnerable users.
All the parents can now trust you!
This new procedure will provide additional protection while still allowing Meta to provide links to relevant aid organizations where possible.
On that front, Instagram will now direct users to official support services when they search for phrases like suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders, while also suppressing specific search results.
In addition, Meta will now opt all teen users into its most restricted content settings on Facebook and Instagram.
New teen users are already opting into the most restricted settings when they join up for the app, but Meta is now expanding this to all teens active across its platforms.
“Our content recommendation controls – known as “Sensitive Content Control” on Instagram and “Reduce” on Facebook – make it more difficult for people to come across potentially sensitive content or accounts in places like Search and Explore.”
Change your settings, teens.
Finally, Instagram is sending out new notifications to all teen users, pushing them to change their settings for a more private experience.
Meta continues to introduce more safety tools to protect teen users, which will be even more crucial in the metaverse’s future, when children will have access to even more immersive experiences.
As a result, Meta is eager to collaborate with experienced partners to create its systems ahead of time, which will not only provide adequate protections but will also help Meta demonstrate to authorities that it can be trusted with such a large responsibility.
You may learn more about Meta’s most recent teen safety upgrades here.
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