Iron Man’s new nemesis… cybercriminals: by Robert Downey Jr. supported app that prevents hackers from scamming you introduces new features at CES

Iron Man has a new mission: fighting cybercriminals.

Marvel actor Robert Downey Jr. owns the AI-powered app Aura, which monitors and tracks accounts to prevent digital crimes such as scams, hacks and identity theft.

Aura presented at CES in Las Vegas, announcing new features to keep families digitally safe parents to monitor smartphone usage behavior.

The new feature also includes parental filters that block specific websites from a child’s device and notifications sent to parents if the app detects cyberbullying.

Downey said at CES that he was drawn to the company’s mission after his Instagram account was hacked in 2019.

Users who clicked on the actor’s account were greeted with a message that read: ”I’m giving away 2000x FREE iPhone XS & MUCH MORE on my Instagram story RIGHT NOW! Claim them before they’re all gone!’

Downey’s Story also showed a message asking followers to claim their account ‘free’ iPhone XS, and his biography was updated with a link to a form requesting personal information.

The AI-powered app Aura monitors and tracks accounts to prevent digital crimes such as scams, hacks and identity theft

“We’re all so busy in this information age,” he said at the Las Vegas event, emphasizing that he had proactively protected his accounts and information before he was hacked.

“But it’s not nearly enough.”

This experience led Downey to partner with Aura in 2023 to raise awareness about the importance of online safety.

“Frankly, the exponential growth of online crime in just the last few years is truly terrifying,” he said last year.

Downey (right) was seen on stage at the tech conference as Aura unveiled the new parental features for the app

“It requires an innovative solution to protect our families, which is why I am joining Hari and his team at Aura to tackle the crisis head-on.”

Aura provides identity theft protection, financial fraud protection, and device and network protection in an all-in-one product.

Aura features an AI-enabled chatbot that provides more personalized support to those struggling to solve a digital crime.

Users connect their accounts to the app, such as banking, emails and credit cards, so it can monitor them for malicious activity.

The app also offers a Smart Vault, which allows users to add information to check for fraud or data theft, securely store their most important digital files and passwords to keep them safe, and easily share them with family members.

Parents can limit how long their kids use specific apps like YouTube, Instagram, and Roblox, while also seeing how long their child uses each app

Aura also features new cyberbullying protection that notifies parents when their child is being harassed online, for example while playing a video game

“Every six seconds someone’s identity is stolen,” Downey told Good Morning America.

‘And last year a million children had their identities stolen. And I find that very nerve-wracking.”

Hari Ravichandran, Founder and CEO of Aura, said: “Online criminals are getting smarter, and the only way to stay ahead of attackers is by using intelligent security technologies.

‘Traditionally, digital security requires a lot of attention and maintenance. But I strongly believe that these tools should reduce the burden of defense on users. With Aura, we’ve built AI into the protection we provide so we can prevent attacks, helping families fight back against digital crime for the first time.”

Downey was seen on stage at the tech conference when Aura unveiled the new parental features for the app.

Parents can limit how long their kids use specific apps like YouTube, Instagram, and Roblox, while also seeing how long their child uses each app.

Repeated studies have linked social media use in young people to harmful, negative long-term side effects.

A 2020 report from researchers at Johns Hopkins University linked the rise in mental health issues among teens in the 2000s to the advent of social media.

Another Johns Hopkins team found in 2019 that students who spend more than three hours a day on social media platforms show a greater risk of serious mental health problems.

Researchers found a strong link between time spent on social media and the likelihood of developing depression when they looked at more than twenty studies.

Aura also features new cyberbullying protection that notifies parents when their child is being harassed online, such as while playing a video game.

A 2022 report shows that 39 percent of children aged eight to seventeen have experienced online bullying.