Instagram's new safeguard to protect teenagers from self-harm

Jakarta — Instagram has recently announced new measures to keep its teenage users safer and prevent self-harm.

The new approach involves sending special notifications to parents when teenagers repeatedly search for content related to suicide or self-harm within a short timeframe.

According to Instagram’s blog post on Friday, this notification serves as a new protection feature within Instagram’s parental monitoring system for teenage accounts.

For parents already using the monitoring feature for their teenagers’ accounts, notifications will be delivered through multiple channels including email, text message, or WhatsApp, depending on the contact information available.

Upon receiving a notification, parents will also be directed to resources specifically designed to help them approach their teenagers to discuss these sensitive topics.

In addition to notifying parents, Instagram has already implemented preventive measures for teenage accounts that show signs of repeatedly searching for content related to suicide or self-harm.

Specifically for teenage accounts, Instagram blocks searches for terms related to ending life and self-harm.

Instead, when such terms are searched, Instagram directs users to prevention support services and mental health support resources.