Instagram Rolls Out Enhanced Safety Features to Combat Sextortion Scams
Instagram has announced a series of new safety measures to combat sextortion scams on its platform, particularly targeting teens and young adults. These scams, which often involve blackmailing individuals into sending intimate images, have seen a concerning rise in recent years. In response, Instagram is taking significant steps to protect users from this online threat, rolling out features designed to make it harder for scammers to operate and equipping users with tools and resources to defend themselves.
Instagram to prevent recording and screenshotting of videos and images sent in direct messages
One of the most prominent new features is the prevention of screenshots or screen recordings of images and videos sent via Instagram's "view once" or "allow replay" options in direct messages. Unlike Snapchat, where users can still take screenshots but are notified, Instagram now ensures that content meant to be viewed once remains so.
This feature will be available on both mobile and web versions of the platform, closing a loophole that allows users to capture ephemeral content through desktop access.
Teen Accounts to continue
In addition to this, Instagram is strengthening its privacy settings for teens with the continuation of Teen Accounts. These accounts automatically limit who can contact users under 18, preventing messages from anyone they don’t follow. Instagram will now make it harder for suspicious or recently created accounts to follow teens by either blocking the request outright or sending it to a spam folder.
Scammers displaying "scammy behaviour" will lose access to viewing a user's follower or following lists, and they won’t be able to see posts liked or tagged by the user—key tactics often used in sextortion attempts.
Instagram launch campaign aimed at helping people to recognise sextortion scams
As part of the platform's broader efforts to educate its users, Instagram is launching a campaign aimed at helping teens and parents recognize sextortion scams.
Partnering with organisations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Thorn, Instagram has developed educational resources, including videos and guides, to teach teens how to spot potential red flags, such as requests for intimate images or demands to move conversations to other platforms.
Meta’s Global Head of Safety, Antigone Davis, emphasised the importance of empowering teens with the knowledge to protect themselves.
“We have put in built-in protections so that parents do not have to do a thing to try and protect their teens,” she said.
Still, she acknowledged that scammers will continue to try to evade these protections, making education and vigilance crucial components of online safety.
The initiative also extends support to those who may already be victims of sextortion. Instagram directs users to tools like NCMEC’s CyberTipline and Take It Down, which allows teens to remove non-consensual intimate imagery from the internet.
The platform has also introduced live chat support through the Crisis Text Line, providing victims with access to confidential mental health support.
Changes welcomed but experts push for features to be applied across other Meta platforms
While these measures have been welcomed by safety advocates, some experts, including the NSPCC, have called for broader application of these protections across Meta’s other platforms, such as WhatsApp.
Richard Collard, from the NSPCC, remarked that while these moves are positive, questions remain about why similar protections aren't being extended across all Meta-owned platforms where sextortion also occurs.
Instagram’s new features come at a time when regulatory bodies, such as the UK’s Ofcom, are pressing tech companies to prioritise the safety of young users. Social media firms will soon face stricter consequences, including fines, under the UK’s Online Safety Act, which is set to be implemented next year.
