Instagram may look a bit different for teenagers in the coming weeks, as the social media platform takes measures to attempt to protect its youngest users.
The app, which is owned by Meta, is launching Teen Accounts for users under 18, Instagram announced Tuesday. The move will place limitations on who can contact teens and what content they see on their feeds. For users under 16, the app will require parental permission to make changes on the restrictions.
“We know parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” Instagram said in a release. “We understand parents’ concerns, and that’s why we’re reimagining our apps for teens with new Teen Accounts. This new experience is designed to better support parents, and give them peace of mind that their teens are safe with the right protections in place.”
What features will Teen Accounts have?
The Teen Accounts will be automatically set to private, meaning users will need to accept new followers and people who don’t follow them won’t be able to see their content or contact them. They also can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow.
Other Teen Account features include time-limit reminders, which will give users notifications to leave the app after spending 60 minutes on it, and the “most restrictive” version of Hidden Words, which filters words and phrases that are considered offensive out of their comments and direct message requests. Sleep mode, which mutes notifications and sends auto-replies to DMs, will be automatically turned on between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Another feature only available for Teen Accounts allows users to select topics they want to see more of on the Explore page.
Parents can also set daily time limits for teens’ Instagram usage, block them from using the app for specific time periods and find out who their teens are messaging — without reading the actual content of the messages.
When will Teen Accounts become available?
Anyone under 18 who signs up for new Instagram accounts will automatically be placed into Teen Accounts, and teens who already use Instagram will be moved into Teen Accounts starting next week. Instagram plans to place all users under 18 in the United States into Teen Accounts within 60 days.
Teen Accounts will also be implemented next year on other platforms run by Meta, like Facebook and Threads. Instagram requires users to verify their age in multiple places — to try to catch teens who may try to use adult birthdays. Starting next year, the platform will also test new technology that aims to “proactively” find accounts that belong to teens, even if they list adult birthdays, and place them in Teen Accounts.
Instagram’s launch of Teen Accounts comes about three months after the U.S. surgeon general called on Congress to require warning labels on social media — due to its negative mental health effects and addictive qualities — similar to ones that are found on cigarette boxes. The move joins another recent Instagram update, which allows users to post 20 photos or videos at one time, doubling the previous limit.