Byte-Sized Brief

• Teen texting exploitation and safety risks are rising.
• Built-in parental controls can restrict sensitive content.
• For text screen, turn to a third-party app.

Recent reporting from theWall Street Journallinks dozen of suicides by teenage boys since 2021 to iMessage scammers who demanded or generated AI nude images-and threatened to release them. And the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reports a rise in online sextortion of teenage boys. NCMEC also saw a 300 percent increase in online enticement reports between 2021 and 2023. Given all of that, what can adults do? 

If you don't already know about iOS Family Sharing and parental control settings or Android's Google Family Link, it's time to get familiar right away and use the measures effectively. Apple's extended controls live under Screen Time settings. While iMessages monitoring isn't available, the Communication Safety tool can detect and blur nude images, and also alerts the child to ask for help or block the sender. Keeping teens safe from harmful messages, regardless of the type of smartphone, might require a combination of open communication with your teens and your use of a third-party app that reads texts.

The Bottom Line

Regardless of your brand loyalty, parents and caretakers can take more control over protecting their teens from harmful content and scams by turning on built-in safety features on top of third-party apps that offer another level of monitoring.