While many parents are quick to demonize social media and its adverse effects on people, there are some advantages to being part of it, including community-based notification systems like AMBER Alerts.

America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) or AMBER Alerts help notify members of a community if a child has been reported to go missing within their immediate area.

Instagram is adding AMBER Alerts to help social media users find missing children. And here’s how Instagram plans to use AMBER Alerts on its platform.

Instagram Introduces AMBER Alerts

On June 1, 2022, as announced on the Meta Newsroom, Instagram announced it’s launching AMBER Alerts to help find missing children.

In partnership with the international child protection services and government offices, Instagram is initially launching AMBER Alerts in 25 countries:

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Jamaica, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and the US.

Some of Instagram’s international partners in its new AMBER Alert feature will include the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, the UK National Crime Agency in the UK, the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico, the Australian Federal Police, and more.

How AMBER Alerts on Instagram Work

While many people are worried that Instagram is spying on them, AMBER Alerts can be a reasonable exception. When a child goes missing, the first few hours are critical to their safety and security. But, how do AMBER Alerts on Instagram work?

If you are in an active search area where an AMBER Alert is activated, you will receive an alert in your main Instagram feed.

According to Instagram, these alerts are targeted based on several factors such as your listed city, known IP address, and even location services. However, this may not work the best when you are hiding your location from Instagram.

Within the alert, you will be able to see important details about the missing child, such as their recent photo, description, and last known location. Instagram will also make it easy for people who receive the alert to share it with their followers.

This isn’t the first time that Meta has integrated AMBER Alerts on one of its platforms.

In 2015, as announced on the Facebook Newsroom, Facebook launched AMBER Alerts in its News Feed. Since then, it has successfully assisted in hundreds of child endangerment cases worldwide. By introducing the feature on Instagram, Meta adds more ways to help keep children safe.

Using Instagram’s AMBER Alerts to Protect Children

When it comes to things like AMBER Alerts, a community’s engagement matters. While it’s great that tech companies like Instagram are taking the time to integrate these features into their apps, it’s important to understand that it’s only as effective as the people which use them.

With this, if you ever get an AMBER Alert from Instagram, please take a few moments to really look at the child’s appearance and stay vigilant. Doing so might even save a child’s life.