Instagram has launched a special type of accounts just for teenagers, with functions aimed at parental control and supervisionThe aim of this experience is to increase the safety of young people who use the social network through their representatives.
Parents have expressed a lot of concern about what their children are watching, following, commenting on and interacting with on Instagram. Let's find out more details about these new accounts for teenagers, how they work and how to activate them.
What are teen accounts on Instagram and how to activate them?
Instagram teen accounts are a new experience for young users of the social network to navigate it with greater safety. They will have the control of their parents who will be able to keep track of everything they watch, follow, comment on and interact with on it.
This protection or parental control is integrated by default., so parents won't have to configure anything. The goal is to improve the use of the platform by teenagers, without their legal guardians having to worry about possible moments of insecurity or bad experiences.
Teenagers' Instagram accounts should not be seen as a violation of privacyOn the contrary – and according to Meta – the aim is to create an atmosphere of tranquillity, without putting their safety at risk with adequate protection for everyone.
The process to start using these teen accounts on Instagram will be automated and managed by the social network itself. In the case of young people under 16 years of age, special permission will be requested from the parents or guardians of the minor.
Characteristics of teenage accounts on Instagram
Teenagers' accounts will be private and new followers they receive must go through an acceptance process. In the case of accounts that do not follow them, they will not be able to access their activities on the platform. Regarding messaging, they will only be able to receive DMs from accounts that follow them or with which they have had previous contact.
The use of mentions or tags Teenagers' accounts will only be allowed to accounts that already follow them. In addition, it will come with the function of anti bullying protection called «restricted words«. This filters all types of messages or comments if it detects any type of bad language, that generates hatred or any type of offense.
Moreover, Content available to teen accounts will be restricted. It will have special settings that limit videos, photos, Reels or stories with fights or promotions about aesthetic treatments.
Regarding digital well-being, teenagers You will receive usage time notifications on your account every 60 minutes dailyThe goal is to let them know that they have been on the platform for too long, which can be counterproductive. In addition, from 22 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day, sleep mode will be activated, preventing notifications from being heard.
Parental involvement in these special accounts for young people on Instagram
Meta wants parents to be the main guarantors and responsible for the safety of their children. To do this, it has incorporated types of windows so they can manage and control activity on the social network. To do this, they will have knowledge about conversations, temporary blocks on the use of the app, approval of changes, among others.
Although it seems quite restrictive and a violation of privacy, it is not as strict as it seems. Instagram has stopped an option for parents to allow their children to set up their own account.
From now on, any new teenage user who registers on Instagram will do so with these new accounts. In the case of those already existing on the platform, The changes will be applied starting next week.In addition, they will receive a notification about the changes and if they are under 16 years of age, their parents will also be notified.
For now, teenage accounts on Instagram will begin to be activated in some countries such as Australia, Canada, United States and United KingdomBy January 2025, it is estimated that all underage users will have an active account and it is expected that they will also reach other platforms owned by Meta.
How Instagram will know the age of users
Instagram understands that with these restrictions new users will be able to Trying to avoid teenage accounts by lying about your ageHowever, the social network has been working on methods to prevent these evasions. It will even search for accounts with the ages of adults who have lied about their age.
Although they have not given detailed information on how to achieve this, they speak of a new technology that will help them remedy the problem. The function will begin to be implemented in the United States starting next year and good results are expected. What do you think about Instagram's efforts to improve teen safety on the social network?
