Instagram will alert parents if their children search for topics related to self-harm

Starting next week, Instagram will notify parents to check their teens’ searches for terms related to self-harm or suicide. Meta says a similar alert system Because AI chatbots are coming Later this year.

Instagram’s new feature sends an alert to parents when their child “repeatedly attempts to search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm within a short period of time.” It’ll be rolling out in the US, UK, Australia and Canada starting next week, but it’s only for parents and teens Who choose to supervise. It is expected to expand to other regions later this year.

“The vast majority of teens do not attempt to search for suicidal or self-harm content on Instagram, and when they do, our policy is to block these searches, and instead direct them to resources and helplines that can provide support.” Instagram said in the announcement. “Our goal is to empower parents to intervene if teens’ searches indicate they may need support. We also want to avoid sending these notifications unnecessarily, which can make notifications less helpful overall if done too often.”

Parent alerts will be sent via email, text or WhatsApp – depending on contact information available – along with in-app notifications that provide optional resources on how to handle discussing sensitive topics with their children.