A dangerous increase in cases of image extortion has been detected on the social network Instagram. We mainly talk about cases of ‘sextortion’ and ‘abuse of intimate images’, especially among the youngest. To drastically reduce these types of criminal acts, especially among minors and young people, Instagram has implemented the View Once function.
Within the WhatsApp application there is an interesting function that allows you to send photos and videos that can only be opened once. Additionally, if you take a screenshot of it, a message appears informing the sender of the action.
It seems that this function will now be integrated into Instagram, in private messages. In addition, other security improvements will be added, such as marking recently created profiles to prevent them from impersonating other users. Measures will also be added to make access to nudity more difficult.
Images that disappear
Meta has detected a disturbing increase in cases of ‘sextortion’ and abuse of intimate images in messages on this social network. In collaboration with several organizations, they have developed a set of measures that make these illicit activities more difficult.
Seeking to protect teenagers from suffering extortion for sharing intimate images, images can be programmed to self-destruct. Additionally, these images cannot be stored via screenshot, follow requests will be prevented, and nudity may be censored.
As explained by Meta, “soon” users will be able to send ephemeral photos and videos. They will implement the “view once” function that allows you to open an image or play a video only once. When media is closed, it can no longer be accessed.
Additionally, measures will be implemented that prevent screenshots or screen recording when a ‘temporary’ video is opened or played. This will guarantee users greater security.
You have to know that, before, if you sent a message that disappeared, this person could take a screenshot and you would receive a notification. Now if you try this you get a black screen and the notification “you can’t capture or record this”.
Blocking nudity
Recently, the app has received “teen accounts” that obfuscate and protect these users. Among the functions is the censorship of images with explicit content that are sent via private message. Instagram’s algorithm automatically blurs them in private messages to prevent teenagers from accessing them.
This function will be rolled out to everyone, voluntarily, not just teenagers. It seems like a good feature, especially for women, who tend to receive quite a few unwanted images or inappropriate messages.
Follow requests and follower lists
Another measure that the social network will implement is to mark profiles with certain characteristics that are conducive to committing scams, such as newly created accounts. If one of these accounts sends a follow request to teenage users, Instagram blocks it and moves the request to the spam folder.
It is possible that this new account skips this restriction measure. The teen, in this case, will receive an alert about the country this new account user is writing from.
Additionally, as followers and followed lists have been used for extortion, Instagram will also take action. Specifically, it will block these lists to accounts that are flagged for “fraudulent behavior.”
