Facebook Messenger will now warn you if it suspects you're chatting to a scammer or bad bot. The feature works with encryption as Facebook moves Messenger towards full end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp.
This means that safety notices will pop up in Messenger to help people spot suspicious activity. You can then take action to block or ignore someone if there's an issue.
The feature started rolling out on Android in March and it'll come to iOS from next week.
"Our strategy to keep people safe on Messenger not only focuses on giving them the information and controls they need to prevent abuse from happening, but also on detecting it and responding quickly if it occurs," says Jay Sullivan, director of product management of Messenger Privacy and Safety.
Facebook says these users can sometimes be hard to discern for individuals, but
Facebook says the new feature will help its work to protect minors, but that machine learning already detects and disables adult accounts engaging in inappropriate interactions with children.
"We developed these safety tips with machine learning that looks at behavioural signals like an adult sending a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18," adds Sullivan. "This ensures that the new features will be available and effective when Messenger is end-to-end encrypted."