Amid fierce protests on social media over the protection of teenage users, Instagram has announced that it will make teenagers’ accounts private in the future.

Starting this week, new Instagram users under 18 in the US, UK, Canada and Australia will automatically have private accounts, and existing teen accounts will be switched to this default setting within the next 60 days. European teens can expect similar changes later this year.

While Meta recognizes that teens may lie about their age when signing up, the company plans to implement stricter age verification measures. In addition, Meta is developing technology that will detect and restrict accounts claiming to be from adults.

Additionally, stricter messaging restrictions will apply to accounts owned by teens, who will only be allowed to send messages to the users they follow. “Sensitive content” such as violence or plastic surgery advertisements will also be restricted. Teens will also receive alerts if they spend more than 60 minutes on the app and have access to a “sleep mode” that disables notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

While teenagers aged 16 and 17 can disable these settings, younger users will need their parents’ consent to do so.

Naomi Gleit, head of product at Meta, stressed that these changes address parents’ key concerns, particularly around unwanted content, unwanted contact and excessive screen time.

“The three concerns we hear from parents are that their teens are seeing content they don’t want to see, or being contacted by people they don’t want to be contacted by, or spending too much on the app,” Gleit said in a statement.

This announcement comes as part of Meta’s broader efforts to address concerns about potential harms associated with social media use among young people.

The concerns come after U.S. Health Secretary Vivek Murthy warned about the link between social media and young people’s mental health in a statement issued a year ago. Murthy said at the time that he recommended that policymakers address the dangers of social media in the same way they regulate things like baby formula, medicines and other products that children use.

Newsweek has emailed Murthy’s office for comment.

In addition, in June, a commentary in The New York TimesIn his article titled “Why I’m calling for a warning label on social media platforms,” Surgeon General Murthy, nominated by President Joe Biden in 2020, explains how social media is increasingly becoming a factor affecting the mental health of young people.

“It is time to require a Department of Health and Human Services warning on social media platforms that social media is associated with significant mental health harms among youth. A Department of Health and Human Services warning, which requires congressional action, would provide regular reminders to parents and youth that the safety of social media has not been established. Evidence from tobacco studies shows that warnings can raise awareness and change behavior,” Murthy wrote.

According to Yale Medicine, the impact of social media on mental health is a significant concern, as excessive use can lead to problems such as sleep disturbances, attention problems, and exposure to harmful content. Some studies link intensive social media use to increased anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

At the same time, Meta’s previous efforts to improve teen safety have been criticized for not being enough. Several U.S. states have filed lawsuits accusing Meta of fueling a mental health crisis among teens by deliberately developing addictive features on Instagram and Facebook.

To address these concerns, Meta’s latest changes give parents more ways to monitor their children’s accounts and encourage parents to use the Family Center tool to monitor their teens’ interactions and encourage important conversations about online behavior.