Meta announced that Teen Accounts on Instagram are getting a major overhaul for the Under 18 crowd. Using the PG-13 movie rating as a general guideline, all teens age 13-17 will be automatically placed in this new 13+ setting. It’s the biggest update to Teen Accounts since they were added last year.
Teens cannot opt out of this setting without parental permission. Parents also have the option of setting a more restrictive experience.
What exactly does this mean? Teen Accounts already hide suggestive content, graphic images, and alcohol and tobacco sales. With the new update, Teen Accounts now hide (or not recommend):
“strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia.”
Additionally, Teen Accounts can no longer follow accounts that regularly share inappropriate content, or interact with them. These accounts won’t be recommended, and they’ll be harder for teens to find in Search. These protections also work both ways, with inappropriate accounts unable to follow teens or comment on their posts.
Many more search terms have been added to the block list, including alcohol and gore (and various misspellings to get around blocks).
AI responses will now be guided by PG-13 ratings: “AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie.”
If parents want a stricter setting, they can enable Limited Content. Limited Content filters additional content, and removes the accounts ability to see, leave, or receive comments. A more restrictive AI will follow suit starting next year.
Meta is inviting parents to keep providing feedback through regular surveys, post reviews, and reporting.
“We recognize no system is perfect, and we’re committed to improving over time. We hope this update reassures parents that we’re working to show teens safe, age-appropriate content on Instagram by default, while also giving them more ways to shape their teen’s experience.”
Teen Accounts in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada can already see these changes rolling out, with all changes rolling out by the end of the year. Protections for teens claiming to be adults are next, as well as additional content protections for teens on Facebook.
