Instagram imparts new restrictions on teen accounts

Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has imparted new restrictions on accounts owned by teens. The decision will give parents greater insight into what their kids do online and allow them to restrict content and curb their screen time. 

Accounts owned by teens will see the following changes:

• An anti-bullying feature will filter out offensive phrases or words in comments or direct message requests.

• The account will be set to private as default. 

• Teens will be barred from viewing sexually explicit, violent or drug-related content, and content promoting cosmetic procedures. 

• ‘Sleep mode’ will be enabled each night between 10 pm and 7 am. Teens won't receive any notifications during this time. 

Thanks to the new supervision feature, parents will also have greater control over their child’s account. They can see who their teen is messaging, but won’t be able to read their messages. They can block teens from using Instagram during specific periods, like at night time or during school hours, and set hard limits for daily usage. Once they've hit their limit, they won’t be able to access the app.

While 16 and 17-year-olds can opt out of the most restrictive settings, kids under 15 will need their parent or guardian’s permission to do so. The change will apply immediately to new sign-ups, and existing accounts within the next few months. 

Teens can still curate their feed by selecting the topics they’re interested in, but parents will be able to see which topics they’ve chosen to engage with.  

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said the aim of the change was to “shift the balance in favour of parents”. 

“The common refrain we keep hearing from parents is that ‘we want to exercise our responsibilities and obligations as parents’, but across the multiple apps that young people now use, parents were being left somewhat confused and disempowered from playing their role as parents,” He told PA Media. 

Meta’s decision to introduce ‘teen accounts’ comes shortly after the government proposed to ban children from social media. A major roadblock with the minimum social media age, which also applies here, is the concern that tech-savvy kids will find a way around the restriction. 

Meta said they would fully expect teens to find their way around the new restrictions. If a child tries to sign up for a new Instagram account on the same device but with an adult date of birth, the platform will force them to verify their age in response. 

Meta is also trialling AI-powered tools to help detect underage users who lie about their age. It’ll detect underage users based on how they interact with content and behave online. US users will trial the tools next year, and it’s expected Australia won’t be far behind.