Meta has announced a new safety feature designed to help protect teens who may be experiencing a mental health crisis while using Meta AI. The company will begin notifying parents who use Instagram’s parental supervision tools when, after a “careful review process,” it determines that a conversation with Meta AI contains signs that a teen may be at risk of suicide or self-harm. The feature is launching first in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, with a broader global rollout planned later this year.
“While I believe that teens have a right to privacy, I also believe parents need to be informed if their teen may be at risk of hurting themselves. That’s why I advocated for this approach and support Meta’s decision to notify parents when, after careful review, it determines that a conversation with Meta AI contains indications of possible suicide or self-harm that warrant an alert. I appreciate how Meta struck the right balance; protecting teen privacy while ensuring parents have the information they need to support their teen.”
— Larry Magid, CEO and Co-Founder of ConnectSafely
As part of the alert, Meta said it will “provide expert resources to help parents approach these conversations with their teen.”
According to Meta, these notifications are intended to strike a balance between respecting teens’ privacy and recognizing that parents can play an important role when a young person may be in immediate danger. Rather than giving parents access to the full AI conversation, the system is designed to alert them only when there are indications of a potentially serious risk that warrants intervention.
Meta also said it is continuing to improve how Meta AI responds to conversations involving suicide or self-harm. The company said that it worked with more than 75 clinicians and mental health experts to refine the system’s responses, so they better acknowledge a teen’s feelings while encouraging them to seek help from trusted adults, crisis services, or emergency responders when appropriate.
In addition, Meta says it is developing systems that could notify emergency responders when there are indications that someone may be at imminent risk of suicide, though the company has not yet provided details about when or how that capability will be deployed.
These new protections expand on parental supervision features Meta introduced earlier this year. Those tools allow parents to see the general topics their teen has discussed with Meta AI over the previous seven days without revealing the exact conversations.
At ConnectSafely, we have long supported approaches that balance young people’s privacy with appropriate parental involvement when a child’s safety may be at stake. No technology can replace caring adults, but thoughtful tools that help connect teens with parents, trusted adults, and professional support may make an important difference during moments of crisis.