Instagram has introduced new Teen Accounts aimed at enhancing safety for younger users on the platform, owned by Meta. Announced on Tuesday, these accounts come with default protections, allowing only users over the age of 16 to adjust the safety settings. Additionally, parents or guardians will be able to monitor who has been messaging their teens over a seven-day period and can set daily time limits or block the app for specific durations.
Instagram Teen Accounts: Key Safety Features
Meta’s new Teen Accounts on Instagram will be automatically enabled for users under 18, with private accounts set as the default. This means teenagers will need to manually approve follower requests. The platform also restricts who can send messages to teens, limiting it to those they are already connected with or follow. Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by accounts they follow, and the Hidden Words feature will filter out unwanted or offensive content from both comments and messages.
Additionally, sensitive content filters, available to all Instagram users, will be set to the most restrictive level for teens. This setting aims to block violent content or posts promoting cosmetic procedures from the Explore and Reels sections.
The platform will also activate sleep mode by default for teen accounts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., silencing notifications and messages. A reminder will appear after one hour of app usage, encouraging teenagers to take a break.
Enhanced Parental Controls
Instagram is also improving its parental supervision tools. Parents can access more detailed insights into their teen’s activity on the platform, including who has messaged them in the past week, although the content of those messages will remain private. They will also be able to view a summary of the content topics their child has interacted with. Additionally, parents can set usage limits or block access to the app during specific periods.
Rollout of Instagram Teen Accounts
The new Teen Accounts feature will initially be available to teenagers in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. Users under 16 who already have accounts will be automatically transitioned to the new experience starting next week. Instagram plans to extend this feature to younger users in the EU later this year, with a broader global rollout expected by January 2025.
