Instagram rolls out restrictive new privacy settings for teens

Instagram is changing the default privacy settings for many American teens, part of an effort to make them safer and give parents more control over their children’s online interactions.

The new settings make teen accounts private by default, limit who those users can send direct messages to, and put teens in the “most restrictive” category when it comes to viewing sensitive content. That means the app will block teens from viewing sensitive photos and videos, including posts that show people fighting or certain cosmetic procedures.

These more restrictive settings will be enabled automatically for all Instagram users under 18, the company said Tuesday, though 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to change them themselves. If a younger teen tries to get around the new restrictions by changing their birth date on the service, Meta said it will use artificial intelligence technology to try to “proactively find these teens and place them” in more restrictive accounts.

For those under 16, restrictions can be relaxed if a parent gives permission via their own Instagram account.

The widespread changes come after years of criticism that Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., has failed to adequately protect young people online. Meta was sued last year by a group of more than 30 states that claimed the company’s apps harm young people, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared at a congressional hearing on child safety earlier this year, where Meta was criticized for enabling the sexual exploitation of children. Zuckerberg has fought in court to avoid being held personally liable for alleged damages.

In 2021, a Facebook whistleblower made public hundreds of pages of internal Meta documents, including the company’s own research showing that Instagram was negatively impacting the mental health of some teenage girls.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said the new policies and restrictions have been in the works for nearly a year and are not intended to appease angry lawmakers. “It’s not for them, honestly,” he said. “I hope it’s well-received by parents and teens, because that’s exactly who it’s meant for.”

The new account settings represent the company’s most aggressive attempt yet to protect younger users. Teens will only be able to receive messages from people they already follow or are connected to, and can only be tagged or mentioned by users they follow. Teens will also receive a prompt to leave the app after 60 minutes of use per day.

Parents can also see which accounts their child is messaging, but they cannot read the messages themselves.

Mosseri said the idea behind the tougher restrictions is similar to the plan Meta had for “Instagram Youth,” a proposed version of the app for kids under 13. That plan was scrapped in 2021, and Mosseri said there is no plan to revive it.

It’s possible that these new “Teen Accounts,” as Meta calls them, will find their way into other enterprise apps, including Facebook. “It’s faster to start with one app and then learn and iterate and quickly follow through with the rest of the family” of apps, Mosseri said.

The new restrictions will go live for all users under 18 in the US, UK, Canada and Australia within 60 days, and Meta plans to roll them out to the rest of the European Union later this year. They will be rolled out globally from early 2025. –FLOWER MOUNTAIN

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