Today marks a significant shift in Instagram’s approach to teen safety with the launch of Instagram Teen Accounts. Designed with both teens and parents in mind, this new experience aims to enhance safety while allowing teens to explore their interests. Teen Accounts come with built-in protections that limit interactions and content visibility, while also introducing features for more personalized content discovery.
Enhanced Safety Features for Teens
Instagram Teen Accounts are equipped with several default safety measures to address common parental concerns. With private accounts by default, teens will need to approve any new followers, and those who do not follow them will not be able to view or interact with their posts. Messaging settings will be the strictest available, allowing teens to receive messages only from people they follow or are already connected with.
Additionally, teens will be placed into the most restrictive settings for sensitive content control, limiting their exposure to material such as violence or cosmetic procedures. Controlled interactions mean teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and the Hidden Words anti-bullying feature will automatically filter offensive language from comments and direct messages.
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Daily time limit reminders will notify teens to take a break after 60 minutes of app use each day, while sleep mode will mute notifications between 10 PM and 7 AM and send auto-replies to direct messages during this period.
Parental Oversight and Supervision
For teens under 16, parents will need to give permission to adjust any settings to be less restrictive. To facilitate this, teens must set up parental supervision on Instagram. For parents of older teens (16+), supervision can be enabled to oversee any changes to settings. Parents can also choose to manage settings directly, allowing for increased control over their teen’s Instagram experience.
For parents seeking even more involvement, Instagram is enhancing its supervision features to include additional oversight options. Parents can now view the list of people their teens have messaged in the past week, although they cannot read the content of these messages. They can also set overall daily time limits for Instagram use, restricting access once the limit is reached. Parents can block Instagram access during specific times, such as at night, and see which age-appropriate topics their teens are interested in following.
Enforcing Teen Accounts
To ensure accurate age representation, Instagram will require age verification in additional scenarios, such as when creating a new account with an adult birthday. Advanced technology will also help identify and reassign teen accounts to the appropriate protections, starting with testing in the US early next year.
Content Control and Safety Measures
Instagram remains committed to shielding teens from inappropriate content. By implementing the strictest sensitive content settings, the platform aims to reduce exposure to harmful material, including sexually suggestive or self-harm-related content. The goal is to remove or hide such content to ensure a safer online environment.
Looking Ahead
The transition to Teen Accounts will begin today for new Instagram users and will roll out to existing users over the next week. This update will be implemented in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia within 60 days, with further plans for the European Union later in the year and global expansion in January. Instagram will also extend these features to other Meta platforms in the coming year.
Expert Opinions
“These updates to Instagram’s Teen Accounts offer a balanced approach, empowering parents with essential oversight while respecting teens’ right to participate and explore. In an ever-evolving online world, this update ensures that young people can engage meaningfully and safely, fostering positive connections while still providing the protection they need.” — Lucy Thomas OAM, CEO & Co-Founder, Project Rockit
“Given that parents today are grappling with the benefits and challenges of the internet and digital media for their teens, our association applauds Meta for launching Instagram Teen Accounts. With teens automatically placed in Teen Accounts and certain privacy settings turned on by default, this update demonstrates that Meta is taking steps to empower parents and deliver safer, more age-appropriate experiences on the platform.” — Yvonne Johnson, President, National PTA
“It’s important that safety and privacy protections are the default settings, both to improve teens’ online experience and to reduce some of the burden that has fallen to parents. We look forward to hearing from teens about their experience of these new Teen Accounts and associated features and settings.” — Dr. Megan Moreno, Co-Medical Director of the SAMHSA-Funded AAP Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
“Instagram Teen Accounts reflect the importance of tailoring teens’ online experiences to their developmental stages, and implementing appropriate protections. Younger adolescents are more vulnerable as their skills are still emerging and require additional safeguards and protection. Overall, the settings are age-specific, with younger and older teens being offered different protections.” — Rachel Rodgers, PhD Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University
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