Meta deletes over 6 lakh accounts as it steps up teen safety on Instagram, Facebook with new features

Meta

Meta is rolling out new safety tools for teen users on Instagram, aiming to clamp down on exploitative content and potential predators. The updated features include more visible context in direct messages — such as when the account was created — helping teens identify suspicious or scammy interactions more easily.

In addition, teens can now block and report accounts in a single action, streamlining the response to unwanted contact. These tools build on Meta’s existing Safety Notices, which alert users about potentially risky accounts. According to the company, teens blocked or reported accounts over 2 million times in June alone after receiving such alerts.

This renewed push comes amid rising pressure from regulators and lawmakers, who have criticised Meta for not doing enough to protect young users. The company said it recently removed 135,000 Instagram accounts that were sexualising children — including leaving inappropriate comments or soliciting images from accounts managed by adults on behalf of children.

The crackdown extended to another 500,000 Instagram and Facebook profiles linked to those original offending accounts. Meta says it’s now automatically applying the strictest messaging and comment filters to all accounts representing teens and children, severely limiting contact from strangers and filtering out offensive messages.

Instagram’s age limit remains 13, though adults are allowed to manage accounts for younger children — provided it’s disclosed in the bio. Still, the platform continues to be a focal point in debates around youth safety online. Multiple US states have sued Meta over allegedly addictive features and negative impacts on kids’ mental health.

Meanwhile, Meta claims it removed 10 million fake or impersonation accounts in the first half of 2025 — many of which were mimicking large content creators to push spam or scams. The company says it’s now focusing on “proactive protection, not just reactive moderation.”