Meta puts parents in the driver’s seat of teen AI use on Instagram

Meta is taking a major step toward reshaping how teenagers interact with artificial intelligence on Instagram. With its AI chatbot becoming increasingly integrated into the platform, the company is now introducing new parental control tools designed to give parents more visibility and influence over how their children engage with the technology. The move follows growing concerns about how young users are using AI tools in ways that might not always align with their intended purpose.

Over the past year, Meta’s AI has become nearly impossible to avoid across its family of apps. From helping users draft posts to suggesting responses in chats, the company has woven artificial intelligence deeply into the social media experience. But that same accessibility has sparked unease. Reports have surfaced indicating that some teens are using Meta’s AI chatbot for conversations that border on romantic or emotionally intimate — interactions that raise questions about digital boundaries and emotional safety in the age of AI companionship.

Recognizing the issue, Meta appears ready to strike a new balance between innovation and responsibility. In an announcement made Friday, Adam Mosseri, the company’s Chief AI Officer, revealed that Meta will introduce a set of parental control features for its AI chatbot early next year. These tools are designed to give parents greater oversight, without cutting off teens entirely from the benefits of AI-powered guidance and learning.

According to Mosseri, the upcoming controls will allow parents to manage how their teens use the chatbot in several ways. For instance, adults will be able to block access to specific AI “characters” or, if they wish, completely disable the chatbot for their children. The system will also generate summaries of the topics that teens discuss with the AI, offering parents a general sense of what kinds of conversations are taking place. While Mosseri did not elaborate on how these summaries will be presented or whether they will include direct quotes, he indicated that Meta plans to share more details soon.

The idea behind the update is not to limit teens’ curiosity or learning opportunities, but to establish clearer guardrails. As Mosseri emphasized, Meta does not intend to transfer all responsibility to parents. Instead, the company envisions a shared approach in which AI remains accessible but is guided by age-appropriate protections and ethical safeguards. The chatbot will continue to offer teens useful information — from homework help to creative advice — while ensuring that potentially sensitive or inappropriate exchanges are more tightly monitored.

For now, these parental control tools will debut exclusively on Instagram, which remains one of the most popular platforms among teens. Meta has confirmed that it plans to expand the features to its other apps once the initial rollout has been tested and refined. The first phase will be limited to English-speaking users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia — a cautious approach that allows Meta to fine-tune the system before a broader global launch.