Instagram is rolling out new Parental Controls features for teens

Instagram has just announced some new tools and resources designed to support parents, guardians and teens on Instagram.

The announcement includes:

• Introducing parental control tools on Instagram: Introducing parental control tools on Instagram in Greece today. These tools allow parents and guardians to:
  • Send their teen an invitation to supervise their account or accept an invitation from their teen.
  • They see how much time their teen spends on Instagram each day - and set daily usage time limits.
  • They schedule breaks for specific times of the day
  • They see who their teen is following and who is following them
  • Be notified when their teen chooses to share that they have mentioned an account or post, including who was mentioned and the type of content.

• Launch of the Family Center: Parents in Greece and around the world will also be able to visit the Instagram Family Center, which contains expert-supported resources to help teenagers and their parents navigate the digital world.

• New features to help teens better manage their time on Instagram: A new push feature is now being tested globally that will encourage teens to switch to a different topic if they repeatedly see the same type of content in Explore. Although it is currently a test, they hope to have a full release soon.

Recently Instagram also released more details about the framework they are using as they develop features for young people. They created this process to help them implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in their product development. This framework guides all teams at Meta on how to apply this standard across the development of digital experiences for under 18s.

They designed all their new features with input from teenagers, parents, experts and policy makers and will continue to work collaboratively to meet the needs of young people in their apps.