In today’s world, it’s completely normal for parents to worry about how their kids and teens are using the internet, especially on social media platforms like Instagram. However, Instagram has taken steps to make its platform safer for younger users by introducing Teen Accounts. These new accounts come with built-in features to help protect teens from harmful content and limit who can contact them online.
If your child is already using Instagram and is under 16, their account will be automatically changed to a Teen Account, which offers more protection. Parents will also need to approve any changes that their teens might want to make to the account settings, ensuring an additional layer of safety.
Key Features of Teen Accounts
The Teen Account comes with several features aimed at keeping younger users safe while they enjoy the platform. Here’s a breakdown of what these accounts offer:
Private by Default: By default, teen accounts are set to private. This means that teens have control over who follows them. Only people they approve can see their posts, stories, and even send them direct messages.
Messaging and Tagging Limits: Only users who are already followed by the teen can send them direct messages or tag them in posts. This feature ensures that strangers can't randomly message or tag teens. Alongside this, the “Hidden Words” feature automatically filters out offensive or abusive language, keeping the teen’s inbox clean from harmful words or phrases.
Time Limit Notifications: To encourage healthier social media habits, Instagram sends teens a notification to take a break after they’ve been using the app for 60 minutes. The idea is to remind teens not to spend too much time on the app at once.
Night-Time Restrictions: Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., all notifications for teen accounts are muted, and any messages sent to the account receive an automatic reply. This helps to reduce late-night distractions.
Sensitive Content Filters: Teen accounts are also equipped with filters that block inappropriate content. This includes violent images, posts promoting cosmetic procedures, or any other content that may not be suitable for younger audiences.
Interest-Based Content: Instagram is also introducing a feature that lets teens choose what kind of content they’d like to see more of. Teens can select from topics like animals, crafts, road trips, and more, and these topics will then appear more frequently in their Explore feed.
Parental Supervision Tools
While these features offer solid protection for teens, Instagram has also introduced ways for parents to stay involved without invading their child's privacy. Through the Supervision feature, parents can monitor certain activities on their teen’s account. This includes seeing who their teen has messaged, though the actual messages themselves remain private.
Parents can also set limits on how much time their teen can spend on Instagram each day or block access to the app during certain hours. Additionally, parents can check what topics their teen has been interacting with, allowing them to stay informed about their child’s interests and online habits.
Age Verification and Account Migration
Some parents might worry that their teen could lie about their age to avoid these restrictions. Instagram has addressed this concern by enhancing its age verification process. They’re also developing technology to detect accounts that may belong to teens, even if the account information says otherwise.
Starting today, any new accounts that meet the eligibility criteria will automatically be set up as Teen Accounts. Existing accounts will begin migrating to this new setup starting next week, with Instagram aiming to complete the process within 60 days in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. For users in the European Union, these safety features will be introduced later this year.
With these updates, Instagram aims to create a safer online environment for younger users while also giving parents some peace of mind.