Instagram has announced new “teen accounts” for users under 18, giving parents greater control over their children’s social media usage.
Under the new restrictions, accounts will automatically be set to private and placed in the most restrictive setting for restrictive content.
An anti-bullying feature will be used to filter our offensive words and phrases in comments and DM requests.
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After 60 minutes of daily usage, a notification will be sent to leave the app, and a sleep mode will be turned on between 10pm and 7am, blocking notifications overnight.
Sixteen- and 17-year-old users will be able to opt out of the settings, but anyone 15 years or younger will need parent permission.
The accounts will automatically be given to new underage users in Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Current users will have the features rolled over to their accounts within 60 days.
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, said the platform has been developing the feature for over a year and consulted with parents throughout the process.
“One of the things we heard loud and clear from parents in the research was they didn’t want to have to figure it out. They wanted it to work without them getting involved,” he said.
“For us, it’s parents first. What do they care about? They know best, right? A parent will know better than any private company, any lawmaker, any regulator, what’s best for their teen.
The new accounts come just a week after the federal government said it would seek to enforce a minimum age for social media.
Instagram’s owner, Meta, said similar rules will be rolled out onto its other platforms next year.
You can find out more about the teen accounts here.