Instagram introduces Teen Accounts to bring more safety and control

Meta is launching Teen Accounts on Instagram to help younger users use the network more safely. Anyone under the age of 16 will be automatically moved to a teen account, and if they want to remove limitations, they must first contact their parent, who can then lessen the account's strictness. Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Instagram was recommending sexual content to adolescents, prompting the implementation of tougher Teen Account policies.

According to Meta, Teen Accounts will include built-in security that limit who can contact them. These accounts will also have limited access to some types of material. However, Meta will provide new opportunities for teens to pursue their passions.

One of the new ways kids may find content is to select subjects they're interested in; the items they choose will surface more frequently in the Explore tab and their suggestions "so they can focus on the fun, positive content they love." Meta has shown off tags such as Animals & Pets, Food & Drink, Soccer, Cooking, Sports, Technology, and more.

The new restrictions that children will experience include the following:

• 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.

With these limits, parents can ensure that their children do not talk to strangers, are not exposed to improper content, and are not wasting time scrolling endlessly on Instagram while missing sleep.

In addition to the controls listed above, Meta will begin allowing parents to see who their children are talking to (but not chat logs), set time limits, block teens from Instagram at specific times, and see what topics their children are looking at.

Meta will enroll teens in Teen Accounts within 60 days in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, followed by the European Union later this year. Teens all over the world will receive Teen Accounts in January. The company also intends to add Teen Accounts to its other platforms next year.