If you care about your children, installing this app is a must

The Japanese child protection app uses artificial intelligence technology to identify and delete potentially abusive photos on your smartphone.

A Japanese company is developing an app that automatically deletes nude photos of children from their phones. This program has been developed as a way to prevent sexual exploitation of children and minors.

The app is in beta testing and was developed in collaboration between Smartbooks Inc., Fujita Health University in Aichi Prefecture, and Nakamura Local Station in Nagoya Prefecture.

Nobuhiro Suzuki, the deputy of Nakamura Police Social Security Department, said:

The relationship between children and social media is strongly intertwined. We want to use this app to prevent sexual abuse.

Dubbed Kodomamo (a combination of the words child and protection in Japanese), the still-unnamed app uses artificial intelligence technology to recognize nude photos of children.

After installing this software on the phone, it will scan the photos to detect any nudity, and it will also detect photos of the underbelly, breasts, and naked genitals. If these things are found, the image will be deleted and the child’s parents will be informed. Also, another feature is being developed for this program, whereby it will be possible to delete the software only with the administrator’s permission.

SmartBooks co-founder Naoto Tomita told Vice that the app could act as a safeguard to prevent children from sending risky images.

He added:

Some parents are hesitant to buy smartphones for their children due to the potential threats and crimes of the Internet. Therefore, installing this program will help clear their doubts.

According to Vice, Japanese police data in 2021 shows that 1,811 children were victims of sexual crimes, of which a third violated child pornography laws, including children taking nude photos of themselves.

One of the problems that the creators of this program face is how to encourage people to download and install it. Tomita concluded that her goal is for children to install the app to protect themselves. Child protection software is expected to be available for use by minors and guardians alike by the end of 2022.