Instagram says it’s deploying new tools to protect young people and combat sexual extortion, including a feature that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages.
The social media platform said in a blog post Thursday that it’s testing out the features as part of its campaign to fight sexual scams and other forms of “image abuse,” and to make it tougher for criminals to contact teens.
Meta Platforms, based in Menlo Park, California, also owns Facebook and WhatsApp but the nudity blur feature won’t be added to messages sent on those platforms.
In January, the FBI warned of a “huge increase” in sextortion cases targeting children — including financial sextortion, where someone threatens to release compromising images unless the victim pays.
Mortgage rates hit five-week high
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose to its highest level in five weeks, a setback for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for home sales.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.88% from 6.82% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.27%.
On Wednesday, Treasury yields jumped in the bond market following a report showing that inflation was hotter last month than economists expected.
Mortgage rates will likely continue to hover between that 6.6% and 7% range until inflation shows convincing progress towards the Fed’s target, said Hannah Jones, Realtor.com’s senior economic research analyst.
“Eager buyers and sellers are hoping to see more favorable housing conditions as the spring selling season kicks off,” said Jones. “However, mortgage rates have offered little relief as economic data, as measured by both inflation and employment, remains strong.”
