Meta launched Instagram Teen Accounts on Tuesday, which offers a limited experience to younger users. This is Meta’s latest attempt to ease concerns over the impact social media has on children.
Meta will migrate all Instagram users below the age of sixteen to the new service. The new service has built-in security features that can be controlled by parents. This move was made to respond to mounting criticisms that social media could harm the mental health of young people and to put parents at ease regarding what their children see on the internet.
Users’ profiles are made private by default on Teen Accounts and can only be seen if the request for access to a teen is approved. This new tool allows parents to monitor who their children are communicating with and also includes a feature that silences notifications during the night. These features can be disabled, but only with the permission of a parent.
Meta stated in a Tuesday statement that parents wanted to be confident their teens could use social media without worrying about inappropriate or unsafe experiences. “We are aware of parents’ concerns and have redesigned our apps to cater for teens.”
According to Meta, the new “Explore feature” allows teens to select topics that they would like to see more.
Faced with legal pressure to change
Antigone Davis is the global head of Meta’s safety. She said that Teen Accounts was designed in consultation with parents and teens. The changes will impact tens of millions of Instagram users. Meta has been making incremental changes for years. The new service, however, “standardizes” the experience. She said.
It gives parents peace of mind. Davis added that Meta wants to “reimagine the way parents and teens engage online.”
In 2023, dozens of states filed lawsuits against Meta. They alleged that the company intentionally designed Instagram and Facebook so they would be addictive for young users to increase profits. In the lawsuits, Meta was accused of collecting information on children younger than 13 years old without parental consent. This is a violation of federal law.
Meta denies these allegations and says that its focus is on giving teens “positive online experiences” as well as introducing dozens of tools to make social media safer for teenagers.
How will the Teen Accounts be enforced?
According to Meta, teens under 16 years old need parental permission to remove restrictions. A new feature allows parents to further influence their teens’ online experience by seeing who they are messaging, how long they spend on the platform, and what they do. Parents can also prevent teens from using Instagram at certain times.
Meta wants to keep teens honest by asking them to confirm their age by uploading a valid ID card. They can also use a tool named Yodi that analyzes a person’s face to determine whether they are under or above 18.
Teens will receive a notification that their accounts will be converted to Teen Accounts. The transition will take place in 60 days across the U.S.A., U.K. Canada, and Australia.
