Instagram has introduced ‘teen accounts,’ a new tool designed to improve the safety of the platform’s users under the age of 18.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, announced the news in a blog post on Tuesday.
According to the statement, all accounts under the age of 18 will be automatically switched to Instagram adolescent accounts, which will have default privacy settings activated.
With this upgrade, teen accounts will only get messages from people they follow or are already linked with.
The platform will also exclude “sensitive content,” including violent content and films advocating cosmetic treatments, and will filter out objectionable terms and phrases from comments and direct message requests.
A new feature will prompt youngsters to take a break from the app after 60 minutes of daily use.
Additionally, a “sleep mode” will automatically mute notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., sending auto-replies to messages and recommending contacts to contact you during the day.
Users under the age of 16 will require parental permission to change the default settings, while those between the ages of 16 and 17 can disable them without it.
Parents will also have access to tools for monitoring their children’s activity and limiting app usage.
The functionality is scheduled to be available in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia within 60 days, with more countries following suit in January.
Meta also said that teen accounts will be added to its other social media platforms by 2025.
