Instagram Launches Teen Accounts with Enhanced Privacy and Parental Controls
Instagram is rolling out Teen Accounts designed to offer enhanced privacy for younger users while giving parents greater control over their children’s app settings.
For new users under 16, a Teen Account will automatically be created when they sign up. Existing teenage users will be informed of the change today, with Meta set to begin transitioning them to Teen Accounts starting next week.
These Teen Accounts will default to private settings and come with parental controls. Teens will only be able to message, tag, or mention accounts they follow. They will also receive reminders to exit the app after 60 minutes of daily use. Additionally, a sleep mode will be activated between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., muting notifications and automatically responding to direct messages.
Instagram is also introducing restrictions on content recommendations for teens. Sensitive or harmful content, such as violent material or posts promoting cosmetic procedures, will be blocked through the strictest available filters. Teens will also have the ability to customize the topics they see more of in the Explore section.
Parents will have oversight of who their children are messaging (though they won’t be able to read the messages themselves), set daily app usage limits, and monitor which topics their teens follow. To adjust these settings, teens will need to request parental supervision, with parents having the authority to approve or deny changes.
Instagram acknowledges the possibility of users falsifying their age to access adult accounts and is working on new technology to detect and address this issue.
The platform plans to transition all teenage users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia to Teen Accounts within the next 60 days, with the European Union to follow by the end of the year, and the rest of the world by early next year.
Newer Articles
- Unveiling Acusfoc: The Future of Acoustic Focus Technology
- Passkeys: What They Are and How They Enhance Digital Security
- Xbox Cloud Gaming Set to Introduce Game Ownership Feature
