Instagram will stop people from taking screenshots or recording images and videos that are meant to be viewed once, as part of “ongoing efforts” to prevent extortion on the platform.
Parent company Meta announced features on Thursday that aim to protect teenagers from being tricked into sending personal images to scammers and being blackmailed by them.
Already tested tools that blur nude images in messages, as well as hide lists of fans and followers from users of possible sextortion accounts, will also become permanent.
Law enforcement agencies around the world have reported an increase in the number of extortion scams taking place on social media platforms, often targeting teenage boys. The UK’s Internet Watch Foundation said in March that 91% of sextortion reports received in 2023 involved boys.
The new tools will include blocking the ability to take snapshots of images and videos sent in Instagram messages with ‘view once’ or ‘allow replay’ mechanisms – which can be selected by users when sending an image or video in direct messages. This will also apply to the web version of Instagram.
Antigone Davies, Meta’s head of global safety, said a new campaign on Instagram aims to provide children and parents with information on how to spot sextortion attempts if perpetrators avoid their tools for tracking them down.
What is sextortion?
Sextortion, in which fraudsters trick people into sending sexually sensitive material before blackmailing them, has become a dominant form of private image abuse occurring online.
The shame, stress and isolation felt by victims of sextortion crimes, who are often harassed and told that their images will be shared publicly if they do not pay the extortionists, has led some to commit suicide.
“Integrated Protection”
Meta said its new features and safety campaign are designed to build on tools already available to teens and parents on the platform.
It will also hide the fan and follower lists of potential sextortion accounts.
Meta currently moves under-18s to teen Instagram account experiences with stricter settings enabled by default – with parental supervision required for younger teens to turn them off.
But some parents and experts say security controls for teens’ accounts shift the responsibility for detecting and reporting potential threats to them.
Source: BBC