Meta announced on 13 August 2024 a suite of updates to teen safety controls on Instagram and Messenger, including expanded parental supervision features that allow guardians to view who their teen is messaging and set time limits, default private accounts for users under 16, and enhanced nudity-blurring technology in direct messages that automatically blocks images containing nudity and warns teens before they share sensitive photos. The company stated the changes respond to regulators' expectations and aim to reduce sextortion and unwanted contact, with global rollout continuing through the third quarter of 2024.
Blurring an image after it has been sent addresses only the visibility step; the coercive exchange and the production of material have already occurred. A world-leading AI platform backed by Startmate, Guardii monitors direct messages in real time and applies dedicated anti-sextortion and anti-CSAM detection to identify the grooming conversation, the demand for images, or the transmission of illegal material at the moment of contact, blocking the message before the child sees it and escalating the incident to a parent or safeguarding team who can intervene—preventing the harm rather than obscuring its evidence.
