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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Alex Hern and Dan Milmo

Instagram to scan under-18s’ messages to protect against ‘inappropriate images’

Various social media apps on a smartphone's home screen
Only a user’s personal device will ever know whether or not a message has been filtered out. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Instagram will begin scanning messages sent to and from under-18s to protect them from “inappropriate images”, Meta has announced.

The feature, being kept under wraps until later this year, would work even on encrypted messages, a spokesperson said, suggesting the company intends to implement a so-called client-side scanning service for the first time.

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