07:54 AM EDT, 04/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Meta Platforms' ( META ) Instagram said Thursday that it is testing new features aimed at preventing scammers and criminals from targeting young people for "sextortion and intimate image abuse."

Instagram said in a blog post that it will soon start testing a new "nudity protection feature" in Instagram direct messages that blurs images detected as containing nudity.

"This feature is designed not only to protect people from seeing unwanted nudity in their DMs, but also to protect them from scammers who may send nude images to trick people into sending their own images in return," Instagram said.

With the new feature, "when someone receives an image containing nudity, it will be automatically blurred under a warning screen," and the recipient will be prompted to choose whether or not to view it. It will also display "a message encouraging them not to feel pressure to respond, with an option to block the sender and report the chat," Instagram said.

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