Instagram won’t let random adults message teens anymore

[BUtterfield 8 41,816]

Instagram is implementing new policies to keep its younger users safe, including making it more difficult for adults to message teenagers who don’t follow them. And if an adult account is sending out large swaths of message requests to people under 18, Instagram will present those people with a “safety notice” with options to block, report, or restrict the adult.

Beyond messaging, Instagram announced that it’s also working to improve its understanding of its users’ real ages using AI and machine learning. The company officially requires that someone be over the age of 13 to sign up for an Instagram account, but, until now, there hasn’t really been a method by which to know if a child is just lying about their birth date.

Today’s policy update is by far the most comprehensive take on teen safety we’ve seen from Instagram in a very long time — perhaps ever.

The new restrictions on Direct Messages between adults and teens will be the most noticeable change from a user perspective. Adults attempting to contact teens who don’t follow them will be presented with a notification that DM’ing them isn’t an option. Teens will also start seeing safety notifications to encourage them to be cautious in conversations with adults they do follow — especially if that adult has been sending DMs to lots of teens.

Instagram will also now suggest that new users under the age of 18 make their accounts private by default. If a teen does choose to make their account public, they’ll later receive a notification highlighting “the benefits of a private account.”

It’s not mentioned much in today’s blog post, but Instagram says it’s also in the early stages of investing in new artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to better understand a user’s real age. Such tech, if successful, could be a game-changer for social media safety.

Source

James Charles could not be reached for comment.

[chromatic puzea 10,653]

4 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

James Charles could not be reached for comment.

[bionic 50,111]

A good start. Keep on going Instagram  

[Lucas 31,087]

6 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

James Charles could not be reached for comment.

"Rip James Charles" is the first thought I had my head while reading the title 

[vyniildisk 12,689]

6 minutes ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

 

James Charles could not be reached for comment.

x1000

[vyniildisk 12,689]

why other social platforms aren't doing this too? 

[numb the flame 7,321]

does this mean I can finally stop being added to sex bot group chats? gorl if you're gonna add me at least get your demographic right, I'm as straight as a roundabout

Spoiler

for legal reasons that was a joke but I assume people here have more than one brain cell to figure out that was a joke for themselves. 

 

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

4 minutes ago, numb the flame said:

does this mean I can finally stop being added to sex bot group chats? gorl if you're gonna add me at least get your demographic right, I'm as straight as a roundabout

  Reveal hidden contents

for legal reasons that was a joke but I assume people here have more than one brain cell to figure out that was a joke for themselves. 

 

Thats what I want to know... lmao you know you're bisexual when you get these 'sex bot' chats from both sexes 

[numb the flame 7,321]

Just now, xoxo Craig said:

Thats what I want to know... lmao you know you're bisexual when you get these 'sex bot' chats from both sexes 

Mine are all female bots and while I can appreciate Beyonce's figure and Gagz tiddies, your robotic ones just aren't enough to make take a left instead of heading straight () down Ghey Ave. 

[littlepotter 76,610]

8 minutes ago, numb the flame said:

does this mean I can finally stop being added to sex bot group chats? gorl if you're gonna add me at least get your demographic right, I'm as straight as a roundabout

  Hide contents

for legal reasons that was a joke but I assume people here have more than one brain cell to figure out that was a joke for themselves. 

 

You can turn off the ability of strangers being able to add you to groups in your settings

[JazzGa 14,652]

Seems like a good idea to me. When I was on the gram I hated getting messages from hornii worldwide randoms, sometimes they would get aggro too.  I could see it being negative maybe for teens who are trying to run online shops through instagram but there are better ways to do that

[numb the flame 7,321]

1 minute ago, littlepotter said:

You can turn off the ability of strangers being able to add you to groups in your settings

I've done that and I'm still getting added to these chats I wish I was lying at this point. 

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

It's sad I instantly thought of James Charles...

[Oriane 22,733]

Ok but you can already decide to decline the conversation if you don't follow the person anyway, so I'm not sure what this changes?

[AVeryGagaHolyDick 31,893]

Next, ban those who are reported for racism/homophobia/transphobia because it's always the same, the person “did not break Instagram's rules”