Meta Enhances Privacy and Parental Controls for Teen Instagram Users

Meta Platforms is introducing enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram accounts belonging to users under 18, addressing growing concerns about social media’s negative impacts on youth.

Starting Tuesday, all eligible Instagram accounts will be automatically converted to “Teen Accounts,” which will be set to private by default. This means that users with these accounts can only receive messages and be tagged by people they already follow or are connected to. Additionally, settings for sensitive content will be set to the highest level of restriction.

For users under 16, any changes to these default settings will require parental permission. Parents will also gain access to a variety of monitoring tools to oversee their children’s interactions on the platform and limit app usage.

Research has linked social media use to increased rates of depression, anxiety, and learning difficulties in young people. Meta, along with TikTok and YouTube, faces numerous lawsuits concerning the addictive nature of social media. Last year, 33 U.S. states, including California and New York, filed lawsuits against Meta for allegedly misleading the public about the risks associated with its platforms.

Currently, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok allow users aged 13 and older to create accounts. This latest move by Meta follows its decision three years ago to halt plans for a version of Instagram designed specifically for teenagers, amid safety concerns voiced by lawmakers and advocacy groups.

In July, the U.S. Senate advanced two significant bills aimed at online safety: The Kids Online Safety Act and The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. These bills would hold social media companies accountable for the effects their platforms have on children and teenagers.

As part of this update, Instagram will notify users under 18 to take a break after 60 minutes of daily use, and a default sleep mode will silence notifications overnight. Meta plans to implement these teen accounts within 60 days in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia, with rollouts in the European Union later this year, and globally starting in January.

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