Instagram Unveils New Safety Features for Teen Users

This year, Instagram is taking a big step to protect its teen users through Teen Accounts. This new default setting allows parents to control how their teens use the app, including limiting their screen time, tracking who’s messaging them, and keeping tabs on the content they’re engaging with.

What Are Teen Accounts

In September 2024, Instagram introduced Teen Accounts, a default account setting for users under 18, which allows parents or guardians to manage and monitor their activities.

Teen Accounts are now live for users in the U.S., UK, and Australia, with plans to expand to the European Union by the end of the year. Meta’s other platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp, will follow suit with this account-default setup soon.

“This [change] really tries to very meaningfully shift the balance in favor of parents by basically putting teens into the strictest default settings over what content they see, who they can be connected with, [and] what time they can spend,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said.

In line with this, Instagram is upgrading its verification system to locate existing youth accounts and assign them to Teen Accounts. Part of this effort includes blocking attempts to bypass this protection feature (like the use of adult birthdays), with trials starting in the U.S. early next year.

Pushing For A Safer Space

Meta has come under fire in recent years for the negative impact of its platforms, especially Instagram, on young users’ mental health and well-being. The app’s lack of content regulation and lax safety settings have left many underage users exposed to harmful content and activities, including cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and mental health struggles such as anxiety and depression.

Though long overdue, this new account setting represents Meta’s effort to safeguard users from different forms of abuse and harm in the online world, partnering with parents to make Instagram and its other platforms safer for young users.

“With teens automatically placed in Teen Accounts and certain privacy settings turned on by default, this update demonstrates that Meta is taking steps to empower parents and deliver safer, more age-appropriate experiences on the platform,” expressed President of the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Yvonne Johnson.

Teens will have a more supervised experience on Instagram,  and Meta is optimistic that this new default setting will help parents feel more secure in allowing their children to use the app.

Account Settings For Teen Accounts

Unlike other platforms, Teen Accounts allow parents and guardians to directly monitor their teens' activities, ensuring they manage screen time, message only familiar contacts, and avoid viewing sensitive content.

Here’s what you need to know about Teen Accounts:

• Teens’ accounts are private by default, allowing them to control who can follow them and preventing non-followers from viewing their content.
• Messaging, tagging, and mentions are restricted to users they follow.
• The Hidden Words feature is enabled by default, filtering out offensive language in comments and direct messages.
• Parents can keep tabs on topics or themes their teens are viewing or engaging with.
• Sensitive content will be restricted in the Explore section and Reels.
• Parents can restrict their teens' access to the app during specific time frames. The time limit for Instagram usage is set at 60 minutes, which can be adjusted with parental approval.
• A sleep mode is available from 10 PM to 7 AM, silencing notifications and sending auto-replies to direct messages.

These built-in protections are turned on by default, with setting changes needing the approval of their parents or guardians. According to Instagram, parents will soon have the ability to directly change these settings for their teens.

Nevertheless, this recent development is a positive sign that tech leaders are making significant efforts to finally tackle safety and privacy challenges within their platforms. And as they become more attuned to these concerns and prioritize user safety, marketers must also ensure that their content is safe for young users and use their platforms with a heightened sense of responsibility and discipline.