New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS): Meta has announced that it is expanding 'Facebook Protect', its security programme for people that are more likely to be targeted by malicious hackers, to more countries including India --covering human rights defenders, journalists and government officials.

'Facebook Protect' helps these people adopt stronger account security protections, like two-factor authentication, and monitors for potential hacking threats.

The company first tested 'Facebook Protect' in 2018 and expanded it ahead of the 2020 US elections.

"We began our global expansion in September of this year. Since then, more than 1.5 million accounts have enabled Facebook Protect, and of those, nearly 950K accounts newly enrolled in two-factor authentication," Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Security Policy at Meta, said in a statement late on Thursday.

"We are on track to expand the programme to more than 50 countries by the end of the year, including the United States, India, and Portugal," he informed.

No action is required unless you get a notification on Facebook that you are eligible to enroll.

"With Facebook Protect, we worked to make enrollment and use of two-factor authentication as frictionless as possible for these groups of people by providing better user experience and support," the company said.

Meta also announced that with more than 50 non-governmental organisation partners around the world, it is supporting UK Revenge Porn Helpline's launch of StopNCII.org to help stop the non-consensual sharing of intimate images (NCII) on the internet.

StopNCII.org uses technology that hashes images and videos directly on a person's device, so those images or videos never have to leave a person's possession.