Instagram will give more control to parents and millions of teenagers will have their accounts made private

This Tuesday, Instagram announced a significant change in its policies to strengthen the safety of young users on its platform. The Meta-owned social network will introduce a series of new "teen account" settings, which will set private accounts by default and limit the content that those under 18 can view.

Starting this week, new and existing accounts of underage users will automatically be set to private mode. This will limit who can see their posts, who can send them direct messages, and who can tag them in photos or mention them in comments. In addition, Instagram will implement tighter restrictions on the type of content teens can browse and block material deemed sensitive, such as posts related to cosmetic procedures or eating disorders.

Parental supervision

Another key aspect of this update is the introduction of mechanisms that promote parental supervision. For users aged 13 to 15, any changes to settings will require parental approval. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 will be able to manually modify some of the settings, although they will also be encouraged to involve their guardians in privacy decisions.

The company promises that the new measures, including usage time limitations and "sleep mode" that silences notifications between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., are designed to address parents' main concerns: who teens interact with, the content they consume and how they spend their time on the app.

Implementation challenges

While the new safety policies represent progress, challenges remain in their effectiveness. Meta continues to face criticism for its inability to accurately verify whether those monitoring teenagers' accounts are truly their parents.

In addition, one of the biggest challenges is the ability of teens to circumvent restrictions by lying about their age when creating accounts. Meta claims it is using artificial intelligence to detect potential violations in this regard, although it has not provided specific details on how this technology will work.

History of pressure and complaints

This new effort by Instagram comes amid growing criticism of Meta for its handling of the safety of teenagers. In November, Arturo Bejar, a former company employee turned whistleblower, testified before the U.S. Senate, accusing the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, of ignoring repeated warnings about the harm its platforms were causing to young people. Bejar revealed that Zuckerberg had blocked initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of teenagers.

In addition, recent lawsuits have pointed to Meta's failure to take the necessary steps to prevent children under 13 from using the platform, and allowed the presence of accounts linked to child predators.

Global expansion of measures

The update to "teen account" settings will initially be implemented in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with plans to expand to other markets in the coming months.

Although the real impact of these measures remains to be seen, the company hopes that these modifications will provide greater peace of mind for families and encourage more responsible use of the platform among young people.