Facebook imposters: Social platform fights fake accounts with new tool

Facebook is currently testing a new tool which it hopes will help fight impersonation. The new feature will alert users whenever it suspects a "similar or fake" account is being used on its social media platform.

The feature is being designed such that automated alerts will be sent to a user, when another account is using either a name or picture of that user on its profile as identifiers, the Mashable reported.

Facebook's head of global safety Antigone Davis said: "We heard feedback prior to the roundtables and also at the roundtables that this was a point of concern for women. And it's a real point of concern for some women in certain regions of the world where it [impersonation] may have certain cultural or social ramifications."

The social media giant has been testing the feature since November 2015 and has already rolled it out to around 75% of Facebook users around the world. The rest of the users should get the feature soon.

Following extensive discussions with global activists, NGOs and users, Facebook has started testing two new safety features designed to address privacy and safety issues that are currently plaguing people around the world. One is a photo check-up feature, while the other is related to reporting non-consensual pictures of an intimate nature (read revenge porn).

Although Facebook has said that initial stages of testing of these features have been positive, the social media giant is still looking to gather more feedback before rolling it out to users. The social media network added that initial testing of these features has been positive, but it seeks more feedback before rolling it out to users.