Meta has announced that it is introducing more teen account protection on Instagram. Teenagers under 16 will not be allowed to go Live unless their parents give permission, and they will also need parental approval to turn off nudity protection, a feature that blurs images sent via DM if Meta's systems detect nudity.
Teen Accounts on Instagram came to life last September and already carry restrictions such as:
- Private accounts: With default private accounts, teens need to accept new followers and people who don’t follow them can’t see their content or interact with them.
- Messaging restrictions: Teens will be placed in the strictest messaging settings, so they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to.
- Sensitive content restrictions: Teens will automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of our sensitive content control, which limits the type of sensitive content (such as content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures) teens see in places like Explore and Reels.
- Limited interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. We’ll also automatically turn on the most restrictive version of our anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, so that offensive words and phrases will be filtered out of teens’ comments and DM requests.
- Time limit reminders: Teens will get notifications telling them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day.
- Sleep mode enabled: Sleep mode will be turned on between 10 PM and 7 AM, which will mute notifications overnight and send auto-replies to DMs.
Meta says that since Teen Accounts were introduced, teenagers were automatically placed into them, and that 97% of teens aged 13 to 15 have remained under these built-in restrictions, which Meta believes "offer the most age-appropriate experience for younger teens."
Teen Accounts are also making their way to Facebook and Messenger, starting today. Similar to Instagram's version, they are designed to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact while helping ensure teens’ time is well spent.
Rollout starts in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, with more regions to follow. Citing an Ipsos survey, Meta claims that:
- 94% of parents say Teen Accounts are helpful, and 85% believe they make it easier to support positive Instagram experiences for their teens.
- Over 90% say the default protections in Teen Accounts are helpful in supporting their teens.
Still on the topic of minor protection and parental control, TikTok recently updated its platform with new features. These include letting parents create custom screen time schedules and view who their teen is following.
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