Instagram launches in-app feature for Amber Alerts

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 are available as of June 1 in the U.S. and will be rolled out in 25 countries 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.

By Sarah Dewberry, Scripps National.