Instagram announced a significant expansion of the safety functions for younger users on 21 April. The function is intended to guarantee a safer and more suitable for the age suitable experience for teenagers online. Building on the launch of teenage accounts last year, the platform now introduces a new set of tools and guarantees that are designed to help parents and improve the protection for teenagers in his ecosystem, including Facebook and Messenger.
What is the 'Teen Accounts' function
Teen accounts were introduced in 2024 to automatically place users from 13-15 years in safe, standard settings. This limit that can contact them, the type of content to which they are exposed and the amount of time they spend on the platform. For teenagers under the age of 16, any attempt to change these restrictions requires approval of a parent or guardian.
According to Instagram, more than 54 million teenagers worldwide have been registered in teenage accounts. In particular, 97 percent of users aged 13-15 have chosen to maintain this protection.
Parental guidance and reports
Instagram has started informing parents with guidelines about how they can talk to their teenagers about the importance of accurately reporting their age. These resources have been developed in collaboration with experts in the field of child development such as pediatric psychologist Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart.
“We understand that the internet can be overwhelming and we want to make it easier for parents to make sure that their teenagers are being protected,” the company said in a statement.
New AI technology to detect minor users
In a daring new move, Instagram also starts tests in the United States of an AI-driven system that proactively identifies accounts that are probably that belong to minor users-even if those users have mentioned a adulthood and automatic teenage account settings.
Meta has previously used artificial intelligence to estimate the age of users, but this new initiative marks a shift to more active enforcement. Although the company emphasizes the importance of accuracy, users can adjust their settings if they are marked incorrectly.
