What you need to know
- Instagram is rolling out new “Teen Accounts” to give teens under 16 extra protection.
- Teen accounts are defaulted to private, meaning they need to approve followers and control who sees their content.
- All teen accounts now have strict content controls, making it harder to find sensitive content on Explore and Reels.
- The rollout starts in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia in 60 days, with the EU getting it later this year, and global availability in January.
Instagram is now automatically setting some teen accounts to limit who can reach out to them and what content they’re exposed to, the platform announced today.
The new “Teen Accounts” feature aims to protect teens under 16 from unwanted messages. This means only people they follow or are already connected with can message them, keeping strangers out of their DMs.
By default, teen accounts are set to private, meaning they get to approve new followers, and random people can’t creep on their content or interact with them.
Parents can now check who their teen has been messaging recently. However, they won’t be able to read the actual messages.
Meta is also auto-setting all teen accounts to Instagram’s strictest content controls. This applies to both new users and those already on the app. With the “Sensitive Content Control,” it’s tougher for teens to stumble upon sensitive content or sketchy accounts in places like Explore and Reels.
For good measure, parents can check out the age-appropriate topics their teen has selected based on their interests.
Today’s announcement means that teens under 16 will need parental permission to change these settings, while those over 16 can adjust them on their own—unless their account is being supervised, in which case they’ll need a parent’s okay to make any changes.
To further boost safety, teen accounts will be set up to allow tagging and mentions only from people they follow. Plus, the “Hidden Words” feature will be turned on by default, filtering out offensive language from comments and DMs.
Instagram is also introducing a new feature called “Daily Limit” to help teens manage their screen time. After 60 minutes, the app will gently nudge teens to take a break. Younger teens will need parental approval to extend their time limit.
Additionally, Instagram is rolling out Sleep Mode, which stops notifications after 10pm and before 7am, so teens can get a good night’s sleep. This new feature replaces Quiet Mode and Night Nudges. Parents can also choose to block Instagram completely at night using the parental supervision tool.
Meta first announced these built-in protections earlier this year. Now, new teen sign-ups will get the features right away, while current users will be alerted about the changes and transitioned to Teen Accounts next week.
Instagram plans to roll out Teen Accounts in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia within the next 60 days, with the EU getting them later this year. Globally, teens will start seeing these accounts in January. Plus, the feature will be coming to other Meta platforms next year.
