SNS & SES Notification

Purpose

Send automatic email notifications when:

  • Content policy violations are detected
  • Admin needs to be notified about violations
  • Users need to know their images were removed/quarantined

SNS & SES Architecture

Lambda Content Moderation
    ↓ (if violation detected)
SNS Topic: ImageModerationAlerts
    ↓
    ├─→ SES: Email to Admin
    └─→ SES: Email to User

Demo: SNS Topic Configuration

SNS Topic is configured to distribute notifications to multiple subscribers:

SNS Topic Configuration

Demo: SES Verified Emails

Before sending emails, addresses must be verified in SES:

SES Verified Emails

SNS Topic

ImageModerationAlerts Topic

Subscriptions:

  • Admin email (verified in SES)
  • User email (verified in SES)

Message Format:

{
  "articleId": "article-123",
  "imageKey": "uploads/image.jpg",
  "ownerId": "user-456",
  "violationType": "explicit-content",
  "severity": "high",
  "action": "deleted",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-08T10:30:00Z"
}

Email Templates

Admin Notification Email

Admin Email Notification

Subject: ⚠️ Content Moderation Alert - Image Violation Detected

Dear Admin,

An image has been flagged for content policy violation:

Article ID: {articleId}
Image: {imageKey}
Owner: {ownerId}
Violation Type: {violationType}
Severity: {severity}
Action Taken: {action}

Please review this case in the admin dashboard.

---
Travel Guide Moderation System

User Notification Email

Subject: Your image was removed - Content Policy Violation

Hello,

We detected that one of your uploaded images violates our content policy:

Article ID: {articleId}
Violation Type: {violationType}
Action: Image has been removed

Please review our content guidelines and ensure future uploads comply with our policies.

If you believe this was a mistake, please contact support.

---
Travel Guide Team

Demo Flow

1. Upload violating image

  • User uploads inappropriate content
  • S3 → SQS → Lambda Content Moderation

2. Detect violation

  • Rekognition detect_moderation_labels returns violation
  • Lambda determines severity level

3. Publish to SNS

def send_admin_notification(article_id, key, moderation_result, owner_id):
    message = {
        'articleId': article_id,
        'imageKey': key,
        'ownerId': owner_id,
        'violationType': moderation_result['labels'],
        'severity': moderation_result['maxSeverity'],
        'action': 'deleted',
        'timestamp': datetime.utcnow().isoformat()
    }
    
    sns.publish(
        TopicArn=SNS_TOPIC_ARN,
        Subject='⚠️ Content Moderation Alert',
        Message=json.dumps(message)
    )

4. SES sends emails

  • Admin receives alert email
  • User receives notification about removed image

Demo Results

✅ Admin Email:

  • Receives violation notification
  • Has complete information for review
  • Can view details in dashboard

✅ User Email:

  • Notified about image removal
  • Understands violation reason
  • Knows how to contact support if needed

Monitoring

Track important metrics:

  • SNS NumberOfMessagesPublished - Messages sent
  • SES Send - Emails sent successfully
  • SES Bounce - Bounced emails
  • SES Complaint - Emails marked as spam

Conclusion

Automated notification system:

  • Ensures admin is immediately notified of violations
  • Users are transparently informed
  • Reduces manual work
  • Increases system professionalism