Meta Rolls Out Stricter Privacy And Parental Controls For Teens On Instagram

Meta Platforms is rolling out enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram accounts of users under 18 in a significant overhaul aimed at addressing growing concerns around the negative effects of social media.

Meta will port all designated Instagram accounts automatically to “Teen Accounts”, which will be private accounts by default, the company said on Tuesday.

Users of such accounts can only be messaged and tagged by accounts they follow or are already connected to, while sensitive content settings will be dialed to the most restrictive available.

Users under the age of 16 will only be able to change the default settings with parental consent. Parents will also have access to a range of controls to monitor their children's interactions and limit app usage.

With the update, Instagram will prompt users under 18 to log off after 60 minutes of daily use, and their accounts will feature a default sleep mode that mutes notifications overnight.

This move by Meta follows its decision three years ago to halt development of a teen-specific Instagram app after facing pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups over safety concerns.