What awaits teen users on Instagram?
On September 17, the social networking platform Instagram announced the rollout of a new feature that will help protect millions of teenagers by automatically switching accounts to private mode and restricting inappropriate content.
Following the leak of a series of internal documents from Facebook (now Meta) to the public in 2021, which exposed the social media platform's prioritization of profits over the safety of its users, especially teenagers, the data leak sparked a wave of strong protests not only against Facebook but also spread to other social media platforms such as Instagram.
Nearly three years after that incident, the social media platform Instagram is finally taking positive steps to reduce the risks that young users may face, such as online bullying and exposure to inappropriate content. Switching teen accounts to private mode is one important step in protecting them from the negative effects of social media.
The new restrictions go beyond content moderation to encourage parental involvement. Instagram will automatically apply the “teen account” setting to all users under 18, meaning parents can more easily monitor their children’s activity on the platform.
Users aged 16 to 17 have the right to adjust some settings themselves, but for those aged 13 to 15, any changes need parental consent. This helps ensure that teens have a safer and healthier online space.
The new “teen account” settings build on more than 30 parental monitoring tools that parent company Meta has rolled out in recent years, such as “take a break” reminders and restricting “age-inappropriate” content like posts about eating disorders.
Despite these previous updates, the company continues to face criticism for placing too much responsibility for safety in the hands of parents and, in some cases, teens themselves. One of the biggest drawbacks today is the overreliance on teens and parents to be proactive in using monitoring tools.
Pressure on Meta to do more to protect teens intensified after a new Facebook employee turned whistleblower, Arturo Bejar, testified at a Senate subcommittee hearing last November that senior Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, had ignored years of warnings about harm to teens on the company’s platform.
Legal documents from recent lawsuits have exposed serious allegations against Mark Zuckerberg, who is accused of repeatedly blocking initiatives to protect the rights of young people on the platform.
Evidence suggests that Zuckerberg prioritizes profits over the safety of young users, as evident by Meta knowingly maintaining accounts for children under 13, which violates its terms of service, and allowing child sexual predators to operate on the platform.
At a Senate hearing last January, when facing harsh questions from lawmakers about the negative impact of social networks on teenagers, Mark Zuckerberg officially apologized to families who had been hurt by his platform.
Meta says recent updates focus on addressing parents' top concerns about who their kids are interacting with online, what kind of content they're exposed to, and whether time spent on social media is being used productively.
The “teen accounts” update will automatically make all accounts of users under 18, whether new or old, private. This means that only people the user has accepted as friends will be able to see their posts and personal information.
Additionally, messaging settings will be tightened, ensuring that teens only receive messages from people they're connected to. To further enhance privacy, Instagram will also limit tagging and mentioning teens in photos and comments to only people they follow.
Additionally, teens will be placed in Instagram's most restrictive content control settings. The change limits the types of "sensitive" content teens can see on their Explore page and in their Reels, such as posts promoting cosmetic procedures.
Teen users will also get time-limit reminders, urging them to leave after spending an hour on the app each day. And the app will default to “sleep mode,” muting notifications and sending auto-replies to direct messages between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The app will also add new features to its parental monitoring tools, allowing parents to see which accounts their kids have messaged recently, set daily Instagram time limits for their kids, block their kids from using Instagram at night or during other specific times, and see topics their kids have chosen to view content on the app.
Meta is actively using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent age-related fraud. Specifically, Meta's AI system will analyze a range of data, including interaction behavior, posted content, and personal information, to identify teen accounts that are likely to have misrepresented their age.
Meta shares that the new features are the result of extensive consultation with a variety of sources. The Safety Advisory Council, which includes leading online safety experts and independent organizations, has served as strategic advisors and provided insights into potential risks.
In addition, input from a youth advisory group, along with direct feedback from teens, parents, and government officials, helped Meta better understand the real needs and concerns of its users.
The new changes will roll out first in the US, UK, Canada and Australia over the next 60 days. The countries chosen as the starting points were based on a number of factors, including platform usage, child protection regulations and user diversity.
Following the initial testing phase, Meta plans to expand the availability of the new features to other countries globally throughout this year and next, ensuring that all teens benefit from these improvements.
