Facebook said on Thursday that its Messenger application is now able to discreetly track down scammers, using the communications system of smartphones in the background.
Read also: Facebook is entering e-commerce
Security messages will appear in the exchanges if the activity behind the scenes is deemed suspicious by artificial intelligence technology.
This new feature " will help millions of people potentially avoid dangerous interactions and scams, without compromising their privacy, " said Jay Sullivan, a product safety officer at Facebook.
It was already deployed in March on phones operated by Android (Google) and will be deployed this week on iPhone (Apple).
" Too often people chat with someone online that they think they know, when they are an impostor, " said Jay Sullivan. " These bogus accounts are difficult to identify and the consequences can be expensive ."
Artificial intelligence identifies questionable behavior, such as sending large-scale messages, targeting certain regions or demographics.
This technology does not require examining the content of messages, ensures Facebook, which intends to switch to full encryption - called " end-to-end " - of Messenger, like its other WhatsApp messaging.
" To prepare for end-to-end encryption, we are investing in tools like this one, which protect people's privacy without reading messages, " said Jay Sullivan.
Messenger already uses software capable of fighting spam and hindering adults' attempts to contact minors they do not seem to know.
Read also: Covid-19: Apple and Google launch their tracking solution
With the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook has undertaken to move up a gear on the implementation of new tools which strengthen its platforms, more used than ever thanks to containment.