Meta to notify parents about teens’ risky searches on Facebook — Engadget

Meta is expanding its parental notification system for teen accounts: it will inform adults if a teen repeatedly searches Facebook for content related to suicide or self-harm. Notifications will also be sent in the event of conversations with Meta AI that may indicate a risk of suicide or self-harm, Engadget reports.

When notifications will be sent

The company says that a notification is triggered when a teen repeatedly searches for self-harm-related content within a short period of time. Meta does not disclose the exact criteria, but previously explained that it had set a threshold of several searches over a brief period while trying to avoid excessive notifications.

Parents may receive an alert via SMS, email, a WhatsApp message, or a push notification in its app. They will not be shown specific search queries or the content of conversations with Meta AI. Instead, the system will recommend that parents speak with the teen and provide contacts for support services.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Controls for teen accounts

The feature is part of the development of Meta’s teen accounts with parental supervision. Such accounts are intended to give guardians more options to control privacy settings, restrict access to sensitive content, including materials about self-harm, as well as teens’ interactions with adults.

Meta had previously introduced similar parental notifications on Instagram. These capabilities are now being extended to teens who use Facebook and to their conversations with the Meta AI assistant.