The Hyderabad City Police on Monday (May 18) launched ‘SOCEYE’ (Social Media Observation and Cyber Intelligence), an artificial intelligence-based application developed to monitor harmful online content, track cyber troublemakers, analyse social media trends and support investigations.

The platform was unveiled as part of the city police’s technology-driven initiative to strengthen cyber surveillance and preventive policing. Officials said the application enables automated monitoring of multiple social media platforms, reducing the need for extensive manual scrutiny and allowing real-time analysis of online narratives that could disrupt public order.

According to the police, the system demonstrated significant results during its pilot phase by identifying 85 hateful and communally sensitive posts related to the Puranapul X Road incident earlier this year and 126 posts linked to the Gudimalkapur issue. Officials said timely takedown measures were initiated, helping maintain peace and identify those responsible for spreading objectionable content.

SOCEYE features an integrated dashboard that consolidates inputs from Dial-100 calls, intelligence alerts, ongoing city events and other operational feeds to provide officers with real-time situational awareness.

The application also includes an automated alert mechanism that continuously monitors social media handles flagged for communal or disruptive content, while also prioritising issues related to narcotics and women’s safety. Using AI models, the platform identifies cyber bullying, stalking and child sexual abuse material, categorising posts into high, medium and low-risk levels based on sensitivity.

Police said the system can escalate harmful content directly to social media platforms for action while maintaining records of requests. It also includes sharing network analysis to identify accounts repeatedly amplifying sensitive content.

Another feature of the platform is grievance monitoring through official Hyderabad City Police social media handles. Complaints are categorised automatically, assigned tracking numbers and monitored until disposal, enabling better accountability and analysis of recurring issues and locations.

For large-scale events such as protests, public gatherings and religious processions, SOCEYE can create event-specific monitoring frameworks based on keywords and track related online activity in real time to detect potential threats.

The application also incorporates analytical tools and a repository of social media intelligence and open-source intelligence utilities to aid cybercrime investigations and conventional cases involving digital evidence.

Officials said SOCEYE’s global search engine can instantly scan public profiles and aggregate posts related to specific keywords, allowing officers to quickly assess emerging narratives.

Commissioner of Police V.C. Sajjanar said the platform would significantly reduce the workload of police personnel while strengthening preventive policing.

“We have engineered this AI ecosystem to dismantle networks of anti-social elements who incite unrest in society, while according the highest priority to the safety of women and children. As criminals increasingly weaponise social media, we will neutralise them using superior technology,” he said.