Instagram launches child protection tools, cracks down on adults messaging minors

This was the latest move by the app, concerning inappropriate contact between adults and children on the platform.

The app will begin using artificial intelligence to determine a user’s age when any user signs up for an account in an effort to find underage users.

A blog post stated, “While many people are honest about their ages, we know young people can lie about their birthdate. We want to do more to prevent this from happening, but verifying people’s age online is complicated and something many in our industry face”.

Instagram in a statement said, “This feature relies on our work to predict the ages of people using machine learning technology, and the age that people give us when they sign up".

The Facebook owned app further stated that to overcome this challenge, they are developing new artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to keep teens safer by applying new age-appropriate features.

“We will use this tool to alert recipients and give them an option to end the conversation or block, report or restrict an adult,” added Instagram.