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Instagram launches in-app feature Amber Alerts

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2018 file photo, the Instagram app logo is displayed on a mobile screen in Los Angeles. Apple, Spotify, Instagram and some of the year’s most talked-about personalities are among those nominated for the 23rd annual Webby Awards for lighting up the internet through excellence and innovation. The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

Social media platform Instagram announced rolling out the new in-app feature Amber Alerts.

The company said it would notify users of missing children in the area.

The alerts, which will be available Wednesday in the U.S. and 25 countries here in the coming weeks, would include the child’s photo, description, and the location of the alleged abduction.

The company added that users would also be able to share the alert with friends to spread awareness further.

“Instagram is a platform based on the power of photos, making it a perfect fit for the AMBER Alert program,” said Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “We know that photos are a critical tool in the search for missing children, and by expanding the reach to the Instagram audience, we’ll be able to share photos of missing children with so many more people.”

Instagram said they’d target alerts based on the user’s city listed on their profile, the user’s IP address, and location services, if it’s turned on.

In 2015, Facebook launched Amber alerts on its platform.

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