India, June 20 -- The Uttarakhand Police managed to save a 30-year-old Haridwar man from dying by suicide because a technological intervention by US-based Meta, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp as well, alerted them when the man put out a post on Instagram announcing his decision to take his life. This is one of many such stories that have lately emerged from the Himalayan state.

The Uttarakhand police tied up with Meta in August 2022 for timely alerts whenever the tech giant tracks a post related to suicide on Facebook or Instagram. With Meta's help, the Uttarakhand police has so far foiled over a dozen suicide attempts in various districts, including Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun.

Deputy superintendent of police (cyber crim...