Meta-Owned Facebook, Instagram Introduce New Privacy Features, In Bid To Protect Its Young Users

In an attempt to protect young users from online harm and to create safe experiences for teens using its social networks, Facebook and Instagram have announced a set of new features.

In an attempt to protect young users from online harm and to create safe, age-appropriate experiences for teens using its social networks, Meta-owned social media companies Facebook and Instagram have announced a set of new features.

“Starting now, everyone who is under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into more private settings when they join Facebook,” the social networking giant said in a statement.

The company is also testing methods to prevent teenagers from messaging suspicious adults they are not connected to, and the platform won't display them in the People You May Know recommendations. It also created a number of tools for teens to inform the company if something makes them feel uncomfortable while using the applications.

Meta is also developing tools to prevent the online spread of self-generated intimate photographs."We're working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to build a global platform for teens who are worried intimate images they created might be shared on public online platforms without their consent," the company said.

Additionally, Meta is working with Thorn and their NoFiltr brand to create educational materials which will help teenagers reduce the shame and stigma surrounding intimate images.

To recall, Meta launched new age verification and parental control tools for young users in the country earlier this year. The company has recently found that more than 75 per cent of people that it reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for sharing child exploitative content shared the content out of outrage, poor humour, or disgust and with no apparent intention of harm.

“We’re working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to build a global platform for teens that are worried intimate images they created might be shared on public online platforms without their consent. This platform will be similar to work we have done to prevent the non-consensual sharing of intimate images for adults,” the company added.