Instagram launches “Amber Alerts” to find missing children quickly

The notifications will send alerts to Instagram users’ phones with details about the missing child, including a possible photo, description and its last known location

Instagram is reportedly set to launch “Amber Alerts” to quickly locate missing children.

The notifications will send alerts to Instagram users’ phones with details about the missing child, including a possible photo, description and its last known location.

Such notifications are common in the US, with phone companies being recruited to help authorities locate a child.

In the UK, the alerts were developed by the National Crime Agency and it is believed they could play a crucial role in the search for missing children due to the photo-sharing app’s visual nature.

Notifications will be location-based and only sent to users in the missing child’s location

The company sends notifications using signals including the city in people’s profiles, their IP address, and the phone’s location services.

Facebook, which owns the platform, said the feature would roll out in the UK and 24 other countries on Thursday, the reports Daily Star.

Emily Vacher, director of trust and safety at Meta, said: “We know that the chances of finding a missing child increase when more people are on the lookout, especially in the first few hours.

“With this update, if an Amber Alert is activated by law enforcement and you are within the designated search area, the alert will now appear on your Instagram feed.

“Amber Alerts are an important way to help our communities keep children safe and we look forward to continuing this work.”

In America, an Amber Alert stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

It was created based on Amber Rene Hagerman, a girl who was kidnapped in 1996 and later found murdered.

The decision to issue a yellow alert is made by each police organization investigating every missing child.

In cases of suspected hijacking, the public information in an alert normally consists of the name and description of the hijacker, a description of the alleged hijacker, and a description and registration number of the hijacker’s vehicle, where available.