Instagram is launching new tools to prevent sextortion, especially among teens

The rapid rise of sextortion in the past year has put teens at a serious disadvantage against bad actors determined to blackmail them for money. On Thursday, Instagram responded to the ongoing crisis by launching a major campaign to prevent and thwart sextortion.

The crime usually takes place on social media platforms, when an extortionist pressures a teenager they have just contacted or befriended to send explicit images of themselves. The criminal then often uses that content to demand money in exchange for keeping the images private.

Sextortion is associated with international criminal groups that operate on a large scale and with speed. Some teenage victims have died by suicide after being blackmailed.

The Instagram campaign aims to make it harder for people to use the platform for sextortion while educating teens and parents about the problem. It is based on insights from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Thorn, a nonprofit organization that develops technology to protect children from sexual abuse.

The new features include efforts to detect and block “scam” accounts, surface certain security alerts, and better protect ephemeral images or videos sent via private messages. Victims reporting concerns related to sextortion or child safety will also see the opportunity to connect with Crisis Text Line, which offers free crisis counseling.

Online safety advocates applauded Instagram’s campaign against sextortion.

“It is a devastating threat – and joint initiatives like this that aim to inform children about the risks and empower them to take action are crucial,” Kelbi Schnabel, senior manager at Thorn, said in a statement.

New Instagram features to prevent sextortion

Instagram tools aim to strengthen safety and privacy for teen users. Last month, Instagram debuted a restrictive teen account, which defaults to private and limits who can contact users 16 and younger.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has been sued by plaintiffs, including the state of California, who allege the company failed to adequately protect minors from harm or warn them of potential dangers associated with the use of Facebook and Instagram.

Meta said in a blog post Thursday that the new sextortion prevention features should make it harder for bad actors to communicate with teens. Although teen accounts cannot receive messages from strangers, unknown accounts can still request to follow them.

Friends and followers can be hidden from bad actors on Instagram.
Credit: Thanks to Meta

But now, if an account exhibits potentially “scam” behavior, Instagram will block or redirect the follow requests it sends to a teen. Additionally, these accounts cannot see a person’s follower or watch lists, which should prevent them from using those contacts and knowledge for blackmail.

Because extortionists often pose as teenagers who may belong to the victim’s extended social circle, Instagram is also testing security alerts displayed in Instagram DM and Messenger to inform users when the person they are talking to may be in another country.

Users may receive a warning that the location does not match.
Credit: Thanks to Meta

Another key to stopping sextortion scammers is making it difficult for them to capture images shared by the victim. Soon, Instagram will do just that by removing users’ ability to instantly take screenshots or screen capture images that are temporarily shared via private messages. When using Instagram in a browser, users cannot ‘view once’ or ‘allow repeat’ to access these temporary images and videos.

By default, teens under the age of 18 also cannot immediately view nude images sent to them via a direct message. Instead, the image will be blurred and a warning will appear describing the risks of sending sensitive images. Instagram first tested this feature earlier this year and is now rolling it out globally.

Nude photos sent via direct message are blurred by default for teens.
Credit: Thanks to Meta

Online safety experts emphasize how important it is for teens, who may be feeling panicked and hopeless, to seek help from extortion. Victims who report it on Instagram will have the opportunity to chat live with a Crisis Text Line volunteer.

The Instagram campaign also includes a new online resource with tips for dealing with sextortion, in addition to a link to NCMEC’s ​​Take It Down tool, which allows victims to remove their images from online platforms participating in the initiative.

Meta noted in its statement that the company recently deleted more than 800 Facebook groups and 820 accounts affiliated with an international criminal group called the Yahoo Boys, known for recruiting and training sextortion scammers. Over the summer, Meta removed more than 7,200 other similar groups and accounts.

If you are a child who is being sexually exploited online, or you know a child who is being sexually exploited online, or have witnessed the exploitation of a child online, you can report this to the CyberTipline.which is administered by the National Center for Missing Exploited & Children.