Meta launches Instagram for teens with new controls
Meta introduces Instagram accounts for teens to filter social media feeds for younger users.
Cheddar
Instagram has officially launched its new Teen Accounts feature, one of Meta’s biggest efforts yet to increase the online safety of its youngest users.
The new accounts, which are automatically assigned to every new user under 18, set limits on what users can see and who can message and interact with them, and allow parents to better control their teens’ social media use.
Meta promised to introduce additional safety features earlier this year after the company came under fire in both the US and Europe for claiming its apps were addictive and fuelled a mental health crisis among young people.
In October, more than 40 states filed suit in federal court alleging that the social media company profited from advertising revenue by designing features on Instagram and Facebook to maximize the time teens and children spent on the platforms.
Meta said in a statement at the time that it shared a “commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online,” adding, “We are disappointed that attorneys general have chosen this path rather than working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use.”
Now users will notice some of the promised changes.
What is an Instagram teen account?
Every new Instagram user under 18 is automatically set up with a youth account, which governs how they view and interact with the app and gives parents concrete controls over their teen’s experience with the app.
These accounts have unique features designed to limit teens’ activity on the app, including limits on messages and inappropriate content, automatic private accounts, and time limits set by parents.
Accounts can be modified to have less restrictive settings, but young people under 16 will need parental permission to make this change.
“We know parents can trust that their teens can use social media to stay connected with their friends and explore their interests without worrying about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” Instagram said in a press release. “This new experience is designed to better support parents and give them peace of mind that their teens are safe with the right protections in place.”
The content that can be viewed through the Teen account is filtered according to the strictest settings. Content that is deemed “sensitive” is hidden, even if it is shared by someone they follow. The accounts also notify the app not to suggest anything marked as potentially sensitive to those accounts in the first place. This applies not only to traditional posts, but also to Reels and suggested accounts.
Sensitive posts may include, for example, sexually suggestive content, content about suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, images of violence including fights caught on camera, and posts about cosmetic surgery.
Teens will also have access to the new Discover feature, which allows them to select topics they want to see more posts about, allowing them to personalize the content on their pages even more.
Additionally, teen accounts are message-restricted by default, meaning they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected with. Teen accounts can also only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. They also come with Instagram’s strictest anti-bullying settings, meaning abusive words and phrases are filtered out of comments and direct messages.
What impact will Instagram have on teen account usage?
Instagram also plans to enforce these age restrictions even if teens try to circumvent them by lying about their birth date or trying to gain parental control over each other’s accounts.
Account creators will be asked to confirm their age with an ID, and additional verification steps will be added. Starting in 2022, teens will be required to prove their age with a video selfie or ID if they attempt to change their birth date from under 18 to over 18. If a teen attempts to change their birth date from a younger age to an older age, the platform will require proof of age with an ID.
Additional steps include using information about a teen’s original account to prevent them from using a new account with an adult age or to prevent teens from linking their accounts to adult age accounts.
Similarly, Instagram is working on an AI model that can detect whether someone is likely a minor, even if they provided an age of majority date when signing up for an account. Using clues such as a review of accounts and the type of content an account interacts with, the AI technology, which has not yet been rolled out, can automatically switch an account to a youth version, with account owners able to change this setting.
Parental control features
Parental controls are a key part of the new Teen Accounts, and Instagram said the inspiration for the new features came from feedback on parents’ most common concerns.
Parents can set up parental controls for their teens’ accounts. This allows parents to approve or deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their own settings. It also gives parents access to optional monitoring tools.
These tools allow parents to see what topics their teens are viewing and who they’re chatting with. While parents can’t read their kids’ messages or see what posts they’re viewing directly, they can see who their teen has messaged in the past seven days and what topics they’d like to see more of in their feeds.
Some other parenting tools that allow users to limit the time spent on Instagram include:
- Time limit reminders: Teens receive a notification every 60 minutes asking them to leave the app.
- Sleep mode activated: Between 10pm and 7am, Quiet Mode is activated, muting notifications overnight and sending automatic replies to DMs.
- Set daily total time limits for teens’ Instagram usage: Parents can decide how much time their teen can spend on Instagram each day. Once a teen reaches this limit, they will no longer be able to access the app.
How to get an Instagram teen account
Instagram began assigning teen accounts to all teens under 18 who sign up for a new account starting Tuesday, but existing teen accounts will not be automatically transferred yet.
According to the company, Instagram plans to convert existing teen accounts to “Teen Accounts” in the US, UK, Canada and Australia within the next 60 days, and elsewhere starting in January.
