Introducing Instagram Accounts for Teens: Built-in Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents

Today, we’re introducing Instagram Teen Accounts, a new experience for teens, guided by parents. Teen Accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and what they see, and also offer new ways for teens to explore their interests. We’ll automatically place teens in Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.

Reimagining Teen Experiences on Instagram

We know parents want to know their teens can use social media to connect with friends and explore their interests, without worrying about unsafe or inappropriate experiences. We understand parents’ concerns, which is why we’ve redesigned our apps for teens with new Teen Accounts. This new experience is designed to better support parents and give them peace of mind knowing their teens are safe with the right protections in place. Teens will also have access to a new feature, designed just for them, that lets them select the topics they want to see more of in Explore and their recommendations so they can focus on the fun, positive content they love.

Built-in safeguards to address parents’ main concerns

We built Teen Accounts with parents and teens in mind. The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ top concerns, including who their teens chat with online, what they see, and how to manage their time wisely. These protections are enabled automatically, and parents decide whether teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict:

• Private accounts:With private accounts by default, teens must accept new followers, and people who don’t follow them can’t see their content or interact with them. This applies to all teens under 16 (including those already on Instagram and those who sign up) and to teens under 18 when they sign up for the app. (Updated September 17 at 11:18 a.m. PT to clarify how private accounts are enforced)
• Messaging Restrictions:Teens will be placed in the strictest messaging settings, so they can only receive messages from people they follow or are already connected with.
• Restrictions on sensitive content:Teenagers will automatically be placed in the most restrictive framework of our sensitive content controlthat limits the type of sensitive content (like content showing people fighting or promoting cosmetic procedures) that teens see in places like Explore and Reels.
• Limited interactions:Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. We’ll also automatically enable the most restrictive version of our anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, so offensive words and phrases are filtered out of teens’ comments and private message requests.
• Time Limit Reminders:Teens will receive notifications asking them to exit the app after 60 minutes each day.
• Sleep mode enabled:Sleep mode will be enabled between 10pm and 7am, which will disable notifications during the night and send automatic replies to DMs.

“As today’s parents grapple with the benefits and challenges of the internet and digital media for their teens, our association applauds Meta for launching Instagram Teen Accounts. With teens automatically placed in teen accounts and some privacy settings enabled by default, this update demonstrates that Meta is taking steps to empower parents and provide safer, more age-appropriate experiences on the platform.”

– Yvonne Johnson, President of the National Parents’ Association

How to Approve Changes to a Teen’s Settings

Teens under the age of 16 must get their parents’ permission to use less protective settings. To get this permission, teens must set up parental controls on Instagram. If parents want more control over their older teen’s (16+) activities, they can simply turn on parental controls. They can then approve any changes to these settings, regardless of their teen’s age.

Once supervision is established, parents can approve and deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their own settings. Soon, parents will also be able to change these settings directly for added protection. Learn more about how to manage teen accounts.

“Teen Instagram accounts reflect the importance of tailoring teens’ online experiences to their stage of development and implementing appropriate safeguards. Younger teens are more vulnerable because their skills are still emerging and require additional protections and safety measures. Overall, the settings are age-specific, with younger and older teens being offered different protections.”

– Rachel Rodgers, PhD, associate professor of applied psychology, Northeastern University

Other ways for parents to get involved, if they wish

While teen accounts automatically put new protections in place, many parents want to be even more involved in their teens’ experiences. So we’re also adding to our supervision functionality. Updates include ways to:

• Get insights into who your teens are talking to:While parents won’t be able to read their teen’s messages, they will now be able to see who their teen has messaged in the last seven days.
• Set total daily time limits for teens’ Instagram usage:Parents can decide how much time their teen can spend on Instagram each day. Once that limit is reached, the teen will no longer be able to access the app.
• Prevent teens from using Instagram during specific times:Parents can choose to block their teens from using Instagram at night or during specific times, with the touch of a button.
• Find out what topics your teen is looking at: Parents can view age-appropriate topics for their teen, based on their interests.

How We Apply Teen Accounts

Teenagers can lie about their age and that’s why we ask them to do it. check their age in more places, such as if they try to use a new account with an adult birthday. We’re also developing technology to proactively find accounts owned by teens, even if the account has an adult birthday. This technology will allow us to proactively find these teens and place them under the same protections offered by teen account settings. We’ll begin testing this change in the U.S. early next year. You can learn more about those details here here.

Help ensure teens see age-appropriate content

We know parents are concerned about their teens seeing mature or inappropriate content online. That’s why we’ve put stricter rules in place around the types of content teens see on our apps. We’re removing content that violates our rules and avoiding recommending potentially sensitive content, like sexually suggestive content or content that suggests suicide or self-harm. With Instagram Teen accounts, teens will be placed under the strictest umbrella of our sensitive content control, making them even less likely to be recommended. sensitive contentand in many cases we hide this content completely from teens, even if shared by someone they follow.

“It’s important that safety and privacy protections are the default settings, both to improve teens’ online experience and to ease some of the burden on parents. We look forward to hearing from teens about their experiences with these new teen accounts and the associated features and settings.”

– Dr. Megan Moreno, Medical Co-Director of the AAP’s Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, funded by SAMHSA

When to expect these changes

Today, we’ll start moving teens who sign up for Instagram into Teen Accounts, and we’ll let teens who already use Instagram know about these changes so we can start moving them into Teen Accounts next week.

We plan to roll out teens to Teen Accounts within 60 days in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, and will begin rolling out to Teen Accounts in the EU later this year. Teens around the world will start getting Teen Accounts in January. We’ll also be rolling out Teen Accounts to other Meta platforms next year. These are big updates that will change the Instagram experience for millions of teens, and we need to make sure they work well.

“These updates to Instagram’s teen accounts provide a balanced approach, allowing parents to exercise essential oversight while respecting teens’ right to participate and explore. In an ever-changing online world, this update ensures young people can engage in meaningful and safe ways, fostering positive connections while providing them with the protection they need.”

– Lucy Thomas OAM, CEO and Co-Founder of Project Rockit