Instagram now warns you if your child is a self-harm risk

Instagram is adding a new feature that will alert parents when their children repeatedly search for content related to suicide or self-harm within a short period of time, according to Meta Newsroom.

The feature will apply to families who are using Instagram’s monitoring tool for teenage accounts. If a teenager repeatedly searches for sensitive terms, the parent will receive a “teen safety alert” notification via the app, email, text message, or WhatsApp.

Along with the alert, parents will also have access to expert advice on how to broach difficult conversations in a supportive manner.

Instagram’s new self-harm risk alerts will initially launch in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, and will be rolled out in more regions later this year.

Meta says it’s working on similar parental alerts for other types of conversations using AI, and those alerts are expected to be introduced later this year.