Sep 18, 2024 14:00:00

Instagram forces accounts under the age of 16 to be 'private', restricts message sending, and puts accounts into sleep mode between 10 p.m. and 7 p.m. - what are the details of the 'Teen Accounts' feature for minors?

Instagram has introduced a framework called 'Teen Accounts' to restrict the features available to teenagers. In particular, users under the age of 16 will be given special measures such as making their accounts private, and will need parental permission to change settings.

Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents | Meta

https://about.fb.com/news/2024/09/instagram-teen-accounts/

Instagram Unveils Sweeping Changes for Users Under Age 18 - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/technology/instagram-teens-safety-privacy-changes.html

Instagram is putting every teen into a more private and restrictive new account - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/17/24246423/instagram-teen-account-private-restrictive

The main restrictions imposed by 'Teen Accounts' are as follows:

◆Private account
All existing and new users under the age of 16, and all new users under the age of 18 will have their accounts set to private by default. Private accounts will prevent strangers from seeing your posts.

◆ Message restrictions
You will only be able to send messages to people you follow or have already messaged.

◆Restrictions on sensitive content
This is the strictest setting, which will make it harder for sensitive content (such as sexual or violent content or content promoting cosmetic surgery) to appear in Discover and Reels.

◆ Restrictions on interaction
Only people you follow can tag or mention you.

◆ Word Limit
The anti-bullying feature 'Hidden Words' will be automatically turned on to filter offensive language from teens' comments and DMs.

◆ Time limit reminder
If you use the app for more than 60 minutes each day, you will be notified to stop using the app.

◆ Sleep mode
Between 10pm and 7am, sleep mode will be turned on, notifications will be muted, and DMs will be automatically replied to.

Instagram registers all users under the age of 18 in 'Teen Accounts' and applies the above restrictions. Users under the age of 16 need parental permission to change settings, while users over 16 can change settings themselves.

However, depending on the parents' wishes, restrictions can also be imposed on users over the age of 16, and settings can be changed without parental permission. 'Teen Accounts' is scheduled to start in January 2025 in Japan.

In addition to the restrictions above, parents can also add the following restrictions:

◆ Check who you're chatting with
Parents will be able to see who their child has messaged in the last 7 days. Chat content cannot be viewed.

◆ Usage time restrictions
Parents can limit the amount of time their child spends on Instagram each day. Once the parent-set time is reached, the child will no longer be able to open the Instagram app.

◆ Block Instagram use during certain hours
Parents can block Instagram at certain times, such as at night.

Topic Restrictions
Parents can restrict viewing to age-appropriate topics.

Since Instagram does not conduct age verification when registering an account, children may lie about their age. In order to detect children who lie about their age, Instagram has revealed that it is developing a new 'child detection feature.' This feature checks for age fraud from the content of posts, and for example, it will detect if a user who registered at 18 years old receives a message such as 'Happy 14th birthday.'

'This is an important change to Instagram and one that I'm personally very proud of,' said Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram.

Posted by @mosseri

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