Amber Alerts Will Now Appear on Instagram
Instagram now shares Amber Alerts to notify users of missing children in their area.
When a child abduction emergency alert is activated by law enforcement, folks in the designated search zone will see an in-feed notice with the name, description, last-seen date and location, and photos of the missing person.
"We know that the chances of finding a missing child increases when more people are on the lookout, especially in the first few hours," Emily Vacher, director of trust and safety at Meta, wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window). Viewers can tap to report a sighting to the police, visit missingkids.org(Opens in a new window), or spread the word by sharing the post with followers.
The feature—rolling out to 25 countries over the coming weeks—was developed in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US, as well as similar organizations in the UK, Mexico, and Australia.
"We know that photos are a critical tool in the search for missing children," NCMEC CEO Michelle DeLaune said in a statement. "And by expanding the reach to the Instagram audience, we'll be able to share photos of missing children with so many more people."
Facebook introduced Amber Alerts to its News Feed in 2015, notifying folks in search areas of the missing child's name, description, and photo, as well as a suspected abductor and license plate number, when available. Users are encouraged to share the alert or link directly to the NCMEC's missing child poster.
The social network previously partnered with the US Department of Justice and NCMEC in 2011 to create Amber Alert pages for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Users can "like" or become a fan of the page to
Read more on pcmag.com
