Instagram has announced the rollout of teen accounts in India with built-in protections that limit unwanted interactions, tighten privacy settings, and offer parental oversight.
Teen accounts were first rolled out in September 2024, offering a slew of protective features for users under 18. Instagram places all teen users in the highest safety settings.
By default, all users under 16, or in some cases under 18, will have their accounts set to private, requiring approval for new followers and preventing non-followers from interacting with them. There will also be messaging restrictions ensuring that the teens only receive messages from people they follow.
Teen accounts have the strictest automatic content filtering settings applied. This includes filtering out depictions of violence, cosmetic products, and alcohol. Instagram will also automatically filter out potentially harmful material, even if shared by someone the teen follows.
Teen users will also experience limited interactions as they can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. Furthermore, by default, the most restrictive anti-bullying filters will be enabled to block offensive language in comments and direct messages.
Instagram will also implement time management features to promote healthier digital habits. Users will receive prompts to take breaks from the platform after 60 minutes of daily use, while a sleep mode will mute notifications between 10 PM and 7 AM.
Meta is also introducing supervision tools for parents. For users under 16, any attempt to change settings to a less restrictive mode will require parental approval. Parents of older teens aged 16 and above can also opt-in for supervision, allowing them to monitor their child’s digital activity more closely.
Moreover, parents can also review recent conversations, although message content will remain private. They will also be able to set daily screen time limits, preventing access once the time limit is reached, and block Instagram usage during specific hours, such as at night or during school hours.
Instagram is implementing stronger age verification measures to prevent young users from bypassing age restrictions. The social media platform will also implement artificial intelligence for this purpose. Additional verification steps will be required when a user attempts to register with an adult birthdate.
Social media platforms have long been under scrutiny for failing to protect children and teenagers from sextortion, failing mental health, and other side effects like zombie scrolling. A balance of parental intervention and platform settings is indeed necessary for protecting teen users from the harmful impact of social media.
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