Facebook, Instagram Updated With Teen Protection Features
Meta announced that it has started rolling out a set of features on Facebook and Instagram, to ensure that young people are kept as safe as possible, from potentially dangerous users on the platforms. The company will be equipping its apps with additional filters for the ‘People You May Know’ feature among other ongoing changes. Facebook and Instagram are among the most used social media applications in many parts of the world, including India.
New privacy tools were available announced by Meta in a post on Tuesday, and the company says these features will focus on preventing the spread of intimate photos.
Any account reported by a young user will be automatically removed from the ‘People You May Know’ feature in favor of another young user, according to Meta.
Reported suspicious accounts will also not get the option to send messages to young Instagram and Facebook users.
Young people who engage in conversation with adults will be approached and asked if they know that person.
The security notice will also allow people to block contact with these people, according to Meta.
Over the years, Meta has been criticized for failing to increase security for its younger users.
The company said it is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to create a platform for young people who are at risk of having their private photos revealed.
Facebook rebranded itself as Meta last year to focus on its Web3 initiatives.
Meta’s Reality Labs business – the division in charge of producing technology related to the metaverse, posted a loss of $3.7 billion (about Rs. 30,476 crore) in the third quarter of this year.
In July, the company reported a second quarter loss $2.8 billion (approx. Rs. 23,050 crore) in its Reality Labs division, adding to a loss of $2.9 billion (approx. Rs. 22,970 crore) in the first quarter of this year.
Last year the unit posted an annual loss of $10.2 billion (about Rs. 83,969 crore), bringing the consolidated loss to about $20 billion (about Rs. 1,64,628 crore), as of September 30 this year.
