Meta on Tuesday launched Instagram Teen Accounts, a more limited experience for the platform’s younger users, in the tech company’s latest effort to allay concerns about the impact of social media on children.
Meta will automatically migrate all Instagram users under the age of 16 to the new service, which offers built-in protections through settings controlled by their parents. The move is aimed at addressing growing criticism that social media can harm young people’s mental health, as well as reassuring parents about the type of content their children are exposed to and who can interact with them.
User profiles for teen accounts are automatically made private and can only be viewed if a request to access a teen’s information is accepted. The new tool also imposes restrictions on messaging, allowing parents to see who their children are communicating with, and includes a feature that silences notifications at night. These features can be turned off, but only with a parent’s permission.
“We know parents want to know their teens can use social media to connect with friends and explore their interests, without worrying about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” Meta said in a statement Tuesday. “We understand parents’ concerns, which is why we’re reimagining our apps for teens with new teen accounts.”
In addition to giving caregivers more control over a child’s Instagram use, a new “Explore” feature lets teens select topics they want to see more of, according to Meta.
Facing legal pressure to change
Antigone Davis, Meta’s global head of safety, told CBS News that Meta designed the teen accounts in consultation with parents of teens and that the changes will affect tens of millions of Instagram users. While Meta has made incremental changes over the years, the new service “standardizes the experience,” she said.
“It gives parents peace of mind. Their teens have a number of protections,” Davis said, adding that Meta seeks to “reimagine how parents and teens interact online.”
In 2023 Dozens of states have sued Metaalleging that the company deliberately designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to young users in order to increase its profits. The lawsuits also accuse Meta of collecting data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, a violation of federal law.
Meta has denied the allegations, saying it strives to provide teens with “positive online experiences” and has introduced dozens of tools aimed at making social media safer for teens.
How will teen accounts be enforced?
According to Meta, teen accounts require parental permission to override restrictions. An additional feature allows parents to better shape their teens’ online experience by showing them who they’re messaging and how much time they’re spending on the platform. Parents can also block teens from accessing Instagram at certain times of the day.
To keep teens honest, Meta asks them to verify their age by uploading an ID card and using a tool called Yodi, which analyzes a person’s facial features to determine whether they appear under or over 18.
Teens will be notified that their accounts are being migrated to teen accounts. The transition is expected to take place over a 60-day period in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
—CBS News’ Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report
