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Starting next week, Instagram will notify parents to check on their teen searching for terms related to self-harm or suicide. Meta says a similar alert system for its AI chatbots is coming <\/a>later this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The new Instagram feature sends parents an alert when their child \u201crepeatedly tries to search for terms clearly associated with suicide or self-harm within a short period of time.\u201d It\u2019s rolling out in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada starting next week, but it\u2019s only for parents and teens who opt-in to supervision<\/a>. It\u2019s expected to expand to other regions later this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe vast majority of teens do not try to search for suicide and self-harm content on Instagram, and when they do, our policy is to block these searches, instead directing them to resources and helplines that can offer support,\u201d Instagram said in the announcement<\/a>. \u201cOur goal is to empower parents to step in if their teen\u2019s searches suggest they may need support. We also want to avoid sending these notifications unnecessarily, which, if done too much, could make the notifications less useful overall.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The parental alerts will be sent via email, text, or WhatsApp \u2014 depending on the contact information available \u2014 alongside in-app notifications that provide optional resources around how to approach discussing sensitive topics with their child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n