Instagram has unveiled a major overhaul in how teenagers interact with the photo and video-sharing app with a range of new built-in protections and features. These changes come as the Meta-owned app continues to face scrutiny over the privacy and safety of young users on its platform.
On September 17, Instagram introduced 'Teen Accounts', which automatically makes all new and existing accounts of people aged 13-17 private with more restrictive and protected settings, even if it was previously a public account. The new settings will also limit who can contact them and the type of content they can view in reels and the explore tab.
Users aged 16 and 17 will have an option to opt out of these privacy settings, unless it is supervised by a parent or guardian. Teens below 16 will however need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings.
"These are big changes to give parents confidence their teens are having safe experiences online" Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads.
Teen Accounts will initially roll out on Instagram in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada over the next 60 days, and expand to the European Union later this year. A global rollout is expected in January 2025. Teen Accounts will also be extended to other Meta platforms next year.
How will Teen Accounts work?
With Teen Accounts, users will need to 'accept' new followers and they can receive messages only from people they follow or are already connected to. These users can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. People who don't follow them won't be able to see their content or interact with them.
The app will also automatically filter out offensive words and phrases from teens’ comments and direct message requests through its anti-bullying feature, 'Hidden Words'.
In addition, teens will be restricted from seeing some sensitive content in search results and recommended content in explore, reels, and feed. This includes content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures.
A new feature will allow them to select topics they want to see more of in the explore tab and their recommendations. This includes topics such as animals and pets, sports, baking, cooking, books and literature, computer science, technology, podcasts, and music and audio, among others.
Parents will be able to view the topics their teens have chosen to see content from, the company says.
Instagram will automatically enable sleep mode between 10 PM and 7 AM, which will mute notifications overnight and send auto-replies to any direct messages they receive. Prior to the introduction of the sleep mode, parents could add custom daily time limits.
Users will also get a reminder to close the app after they have used it for an hour every day.
Teens, who are under the age of 16, will need to set up parental supervision on Instagram to change any of these settings. Parents will be able to approve and deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their settings themselves. They will also soon be able to change these settings directly, the company said.
"This is a significant change to Instagram and it's one that I am personally very proud of," Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a post on Threads.
New parental controls
In addition to Teen Accounts, Instagram is also rolling out updates to its parental controls. This includes the ability to see who their teen has messaged in the past seven days, without seeing the actual contents of the messages
Parents will have the option to block their teens from using Instagram at specific time periods with a single button and also set daily time limits, after which the teen will no longer be able to access the app.
Meta stated that the company is also building technology to proactively find accounts that belong to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday, and place them under similar protections offered by Teen Accounts.
The app will also require teens to verify their age in more places, like if they attempt to use a new account with an adult birthday. The company will start testing these changes in the United States early next year.
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