For all youngsters addicted to Insta Reels, those under 16 won’t be able to go live anymore and won’t be able to disable filters that block unwanted images in messages without a parent’s approval.
These measures were announced on Friday at a Teen Safety Forum organised by Meta India in New Delhi.
“Young people deserve safe, age-appropriate online experiences, and these updates are part of our long-term commitment to building platforms that prioritise their well-being,” said Tara Hopkins, global director of public policy, Instagram.
Over 54 million teens globally use Instagram Teen Accounts rolled out in September last year. Of these, at least 97% of teenagers aged between 13 and 15 years have so far stayed within the protective settings designed by the platform, Hopkins said.
Meta offered Teen Accounts in India in February this year. Its next phase of safety initiatives will offer youngsters a safe and age-appropriate experience, while giving parents more control and oversight over their kids’ activity online.
Speaking with FE, Hopkins added, “If someone is under the age of 18 and already on Instagram, we are moving them automatically into the Teen Account experience. Over the next few months in India, they will be receiving a notification about this. We’ll explain what it means, the limitations in terms of content, contact, and time, etc, so as to be transparent with them about how much autonomy they will have. If someone is newly joining Instagram, they will automatically be incorporated in the Teen Accounts experience.”
She went on to say, “Teen creators on Instagram are also being placed into the Teen Account experience. But since we didn’t want to alienate them, we gave them substantial notice before making this change to set up parental supervision on their accounts — that could be a parent, a guardian, or their management agency.”
Sayed Otaru, director of product management and well-being at Instagram, said at the event, “Parents don’t want their teens to have contact with strangers and see age-inappropriate content. Rather, they want their kids to spend their time meaningfully. We’re helping them do more of that, and leveraging AI to put these features in place.”
He added that all the features for Teen Accounts will be rolled out in India by the end of June. Answering a parent’s concern about bullying, Hopkins added that Meta has a team monitoring the use of emojis and analysing if any emoji is used for bullying or harassment. “Kids want the right to privacy, and parents want safety and protection. We’re trying very hard to strike that balance,” said Hopkins.
Twinkle Khanna, founder of Tweak India, who was headlining the event, said, “Social media is an incredible tool, but it can also be overwhelming, especially for teens. As a parent, I know how hard it can be to strike the right balance between giving your teen freedom and making sure they are safe online.”
