This story contains references to sexual abuse and harassment.
Instagram is testing a feature to block users from sending explicit images and videos in direct message (DM) requests, in an effort to "protect people from unwanted interactions".
Users in the trial will be limited to sending one, text-only DM request to someone who doesn't follow them. They will only be able to DM images or videos to the person after their message request has been accepted.
Instagram's parent company, Meta, confirmed to SBS News that some Australian users would be a part of the trial, but declined to say how long it would last for.
"We want people to feel confident and in control when they open their inbox," Meta's head of women's safety, Cindy Southworth, said in a statement.
"That's why we're testing new features that mean people can’t receive images, videos or multiple messages from someone they don’t follow, until they've accepted the request to chat."
She said Meta was "grateful" for the feedback it received from users about online abuse.
"We'll keep listening to find ways to help everyone feel safer on Instagram."
How common is technology-facilitated abuse in Australia and who does it affect?
Sending unwanted and improper or offensive messages, images, and videos is a form of technology-facilitated abuse, commonly known as cyber flashing.
found half of all Australians had been victims of technology-facilitated abuse.
Asher Flynn, who led the ANROWS research and is an associate professor in criminology at Monash University, said the rates were particularly high among "vulnerable and marginalised community groups".
"For example, LGBTQIA+ participants — three in four of those reported experiencing tech-facilitated abuse," she told SBS News.
"We had seven in 10 respondents who disclosed Indigenous status as experiencing tech-facilitated abuse.
"It was also really high among young adults, so three in four of those aged 18 to 24 and of those aged 25 to 34 years were experiencing this type of abuse."
How effective could the feature be at preventing technology-facilitated abuse?
Associate Professor Flynn said the feature Instagram was trialling was a "really great initiative".
"It's essentially designed to be particularly relevant for women and high profile women - so journalists, politicians, activists - who are disproportionately affected by unwanted DMs," she said.
"You're only allowed to send one DM request to anyone that you don't follow within a 24-hour period, so that kind of addresses those persistent DMs and also bots from being able to target people."
The "simple solution" would have a "clear impact" on the amount of unsolicited, sexually explicit messages women receive on Instagram, Associate Professor Flynn said.
"The main thing that I like about this approach is that it's putting the onus on the perpetrator or the person who's trying to do the harassing instead of it just being the onus being on the person who's receiving it," she said.
"Often these initiatives that are introduced, you have to opt into these different safety mechanisms, you have to block people, you have to prevent yourself from experiencing the abuse, whereas this is actually flipping the table a bit and putting the onus on the perpetrator to sort of say, 'You can't be sending those messages'.
"It just reduces the opportunity for them to be engaging in this type of behaviour, which might be enough to help reduce it."
eSafety, Australia's independent regulator for online safety, said it welcomed "any innovation" that protected users from cyber flashing, and other forms of technology-facilitated abuse.
"It's never okay to send nudes, sexual images, or other explicit material to someone who didn't ask for them, whoever they are," an eSafety spokesperson told SBS News in a statement.
"Sending unsolicited nude pictures is grounded in a lack of respect and depending on the nature of this activity, there are various offences in different jurisdictions that could apply.
"The Instagram trial has a similar focus to the recent announcement by Apple that its latest iOS update will include a feature to protect children and adult users from receiving unsolicited explicit content via iMessage."
LISTEN TO
Government pledges to find ways to stop technology-facilitated abuse
SBS News
05/04/202306:51
Associate Professor Flynn said one limitation was that it wouldn't stop people from sending unsolicited explicit content to people who do follow them.
"There's always going to be flaws," she said.
"But I think at least we're starting to see digital platforms taking tech-facilitated abuse and harassment of women online more seriously, and that's got to be a positive."
eSafety said it had "for some time" been calling on industry to take a Safety by Design approach to their products and services by "identifying potential harms and embedding safety features in before they are released to the public".
"A Safety by Design approach should include considering the needs of particular targeted or at-risk groups, including women," they said.
What should you do if you're sent an unsolicited nude?
eSafety said anyone who received an unwanted explicit photo or video should report it to the platform they were sent it through "before deleting the content and blocking the person who sent it".
"There are also safety, privacy, and blocking options on devices to address unwanted images received via text, AirDrop or Nearby Share,” the spokesperson said.
"If this behaviour is accompanied by threatened or actual sharing of your intimate images – or if cyberbullying or abuse material has been posted about you –."
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual abuse or harassment, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
