The notifications apply to parents who have activated the supervision function. They will receive them via the app, email, SMS or WhatsApp, which is also from Meta. They will then receive a message explaining more about the teen’s search behavior, and they will have the opportunity to see expert resources that can help them start a conversation with their child.
The feature will roll out next week in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Other regions will follow later this year, Meta says. “Our goal is to enable parents to intervene if their teenager’s seeking behavior shows that they may need help,” Meta added.
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Instagram says it normally blocks messages that glorify suicide or self-harm. Users are allowed to talk about their mental struggles, but that content is hidden from teenagers, it says. The platform also wants to block search terms that are clearly linked to suicide or self-harm. “That means we don’t show results and instead refer people to resources and local organizations that can help.”
Meta says it is also working on similar notifications for certain artificial intelligence functions, especially when teens want to have conversations with AI chatbots about suicide or self-harm.