Instagram will limit opportunities for adult users to chat with strangers

The social network Instagram will prohibit adult users from writing private messages to unfamiliar teens. This was reported in the company’s blog. The innovation will be used as part of the new service security policy.

According to the new rules, adult users will write freely only to those underage users who follow them. If he tries to write to an unfamiliar teenager, the service will notify him that the message has not been delivered. Besides, the platform will begin to warn underage users about suspicious behavior. For example, if an adult user often follows other teens.

“There are times when the interaction between teenagers and adults is appropriate, but children must be protected from unwanted contact from adult users. These rules give teens more control, which means they can protect themselves, ”said Larry Magid, CEO of the nonprofit ConnectSafely.

The new option will work thanks to a system for predicting users’ age using artificial intelligence and neural networks. The details of its functioning are not specified. 

The update is scheduled to be released in March. The list of countries in which the launch will take place is not named.