Instagram Introduces ‘Private By Default’ Feature For Teen Accounts To Ensure Child Safety

To improve children’s online safety, Instagram will now automatically set accounts for users under 18 to “PRIVATE” by default. This privacy feature allows parents greater control over their children’s accounts, ensuring that only approved followers can view their posts. Instagram, owned by Meta, is introducing this measure as a major step toward managing how minors use the platform.

In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents during a Senate hearing on online child safety. Parents alleged that Instagram contributed to their children’s suicides or exploitation. Meta is also facing multiple lawsuits in the US, with states accusing the company of “harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms,” as reported by AP.

Several safety features will accompany this rollout. For instance, Instagram will send notifications to teenagers who spend more than 60 minutes on the app. Additionally, a ‘sleep mode’ will be activated between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., turning off notifications and sending automatic replies to direct messages during that time.

Meta outlined these protections in a statement, saying, “We developed Teen Accounts with parents and teens in mind. The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing and whether their time is being well spent. These protections are turned on automatically, and parents decide if teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict.”

Some of the key protections include:

• Private accounts: Teens under 16 (and under 18 for new users) will automatically have private accounts, meaning they must approve new followers and non-followers can’t interact with their content. Meta clarified, “This applies to all teens under 16 (including those already on Instagram and those signing up) and teens under 18 when they sign up for the app.”
• Messaging restrictions: Teens can only receive messages from people they follow or are already connected with.
• Sensitive content restrictions: Teens will be placed in the strictest settings for sensitive content, limiting what they see in areas like Explore and Reels.
• Limited interactions: Only people teens follow can tag or mention them, and the most restrictive anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, will automatically filter out offensive comments and DM requests.
• Time limit reminders: Teens will receive notifications encouraging them to leave the app after 60 minutes of daily use.
• Sleep mode enabled: Notifications will be muted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and automatic replies will be sent to DMs during this period.

Teens aged 17 to 18 can adjust these settings, but those under 16 will need parental approval to modify the default settings. This update will be rolled out gradually, and Meta is also working on solutions to address the issue of underage users lying about their age.