To improve children’s online safety, Instagram will now automatically set accounts for users under 18 to “PRIVATE” by default. This privacy feature allows parents greater control over their children’s accounts, ensuring that only approved followers can view their posts. Instagram, owned by Meta, is introducing this measure as a major step toward managing how minors use the platform.
In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents during a Senate hearing on online child safety. Parents alleged that Instagram contributed to their children’s suicides or exploitation. Meta is also facing multiple lawsuits in the US, with states accusing the company of “harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms,” as reported by AP.
Several safety features will accompany this rollout. For instance, Instagram will send notifications to teenagers who spend more than 60 minutes on the app. Additionally, a ‘sleep mode’ will be activated between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., turning off notifications and sending automatic replies to direct messages during that time.
Meta outlined these protections in a statement, saying, “We developed Teen Accounts with parents and teens in mind. The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing and whether their time is being well spent. These protections are turned on automatically, and parents decide if teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict.”
Some of the key protections include:
Teens aged 17 to 18 can adjust these settings, but those under 16 will need parental approval to modify the default settings. This update will be rolled out gradually, and Meta is also working on solutions to address the issue of underage users lying about their age.
