Protection of minors in social mediaNew Instagram teen accounts with more control for parents
META will introduce so-called teen accounts by the end of the year. This is primarily intended to protect minors under the age of 16 on the platform from contact risks such as cybergrooming, harmful content such as depictions of violence or pornography and excessive use of . Parents of teen account users will have more insight into and control over their child's usage behavior.
What new features are associated with teen accounts?
Private accounts
Teen accounts are private by default, meaning minors must accept new followers and people who do not follow them will not be able to see or interact with their content. Accounts of 13-15 year olds who previously had a public profile will be set to private when the teen accounts are launched.
Restricted messaging function
Stricter messaging standards will apply to teens, meaning they can only receive messages from people they follow or are already connected to. Parents can also see who their teenager has messaged with in the last 7 days in Parental Controls, but they cannot see the content of the messages.
Restriction of sensitive content
Teens are automatically set to more restrictive content settings, limiting the content of accounts they do not follow (e.g. in Reels or Explore).
Limiting interactions and insults
Minors can only be tagged or mentioned in content by people they follow. Instagram will enable the "hide comments/messages" feature for minors , meaning offensive words or phrases will be automatically filtered out of their comments and direct messages.
Time limit
All minors will be prompted to close the app after 60 minutes. Parents can also make this reminder stricter in Parental Control and block the app completely for their children during certain periods.
Night mode
Teens are put into sleep mode between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., which prevents teens from receiving notifications at night and being online too late.
What should parents bear in mind?
- These new protective measures only take effect if the correct age is specified when registering. The age is not checked during download and registration.
- If you want to allow your teenager to use Instagram, set up the account together.
- The protective measures refer to the minimum age of 13 years, which META prescribes for the use of Instagram.
Media usage studies such as KIM show that children in the six to 13 age group are already using social media services such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. However, children in this age group have not yet gained enough online experience and media skills to use social media services safely. Find out in our topic areas and in our parent guides why these platforms are not suitable for primary school children, what risks may be associated with them and what child-friendly alternatives are available.
- Observe the terms of use and the minimum age of the services. Explain to your child why they are not suitable for younger children. Talk openly about the dangers and risks.
- Even with a teen account, continuous supervision by a parent or guardian remains important. Discuss the trends and beauty ideals that are exemplified on platforms such as Instagram with young people. Social comparison and body-related ideals are particularly stressful for adolescents in puberty.
Make social media the topic! For example, ask which challenges your children have taken part in or would take part in, which channels and influencers they follow on social media and why. You can find more conversation starters here.
Further information from klicksafe
