It seems more and more people these days are having problems with Revenge Porn, or to give it a more official title, “image-based abuse.” Facebook is trying out a new method of fighting against the said practice in a most unusual (and rather discomforting) way. They are asking anyone who is concerned their nude images might be shared on the social media platform to send them the images.

Send nude photos to Facebook to prevent revenge porn

According to a report by USA Today, as part of their pilot program in Australia, Facebook is giving users the ability to send themselves their nude images using the Messenger tool.

The social media platform will then create a unique “digital fingerprint” of the intimate image in an effort to stop any copies of those images from being uploaded to either Facebook or Instagram by either a disgruntled lover or a hacker.

The Office of the E-Safety Commissioner in Australia states that image-based abuse isn’t just a matter of revenge porn, however, and that it is a growing problem in the country. According to them, one in five people in Australia between the ages of 16 and 49 are victims of image-based abuse, with women between the ages of 18 and 24 being the most likely targets.Their spokesperson, Julie Inman Grant, told ABC News that they foresee several scenarios, where videos or photos that were taken consensually at some time can end up being used more broadly, without further consent.

Facebook will use photo-matching technologies to stop revenge porn

Grant said the process will be similar to sending yourself an image via email but is a safer and more secure way of sending the nude images, without them going through the ether. Obviously, Facebook users are feeling concern about what the social media platform will do with the intimate images once they are uploaded.

Grant went on to reassure everyone that Facebook is not storing the images, but is merely storing a link or digital fingerprint to the images. They would then use artificial intelligence and additional photo-matching technologies to spot the abuse.

Should someone attempt to upload that same nude image, with the same digital footprint, Facebook’s technology would prevent that from happening.

Grant went on to say that anyone who is concerned their intimate images could end up being posted on Facebook would first need to file a report with her office, who would then share the report with Facebook.

This is not the first attempt by the social media giant to combat the increasing menace of revenge porn. Back in April this year, Facebook launched new tools so that users of their platform could flag nude images posted without their prior consent.
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