Liam Walsh
Liam is a Co-Director at Intelligency and heads up the agency's Digital Intelligence & Paid Social activity. Over the last decade, he has worked with brands from the world of sports such as Premier League clubs to entertainment such as Channel 4 and Disney.
Instagram is introducing new “Teen accounts” for users under 16 which feature stricter privacy and safety settings. These accounts will be private by default, meaning that users under 16 must approve new followers. Additionally, people who don’t follow them won’t be able to view or interact with their content.
Interactions will be limited even more as only people who they follow can tag or mention them. Parents and guardians will need to approve any changes to the default settings.
There will be restrictions to interactions with the Teen Accounts
Messaging features will be restricted so that young users can only communicate with people they are already connected to. These accounts will also have the highest sensitivity settings, controlling the type of content that appears in their feeds. To help manage screen time, teens will receive notifications prompting them to take a break after an hour of daily use. Instagram is also introducing sleep reminders to encourage healthy usage habits. The new settings will automatically apply to teens in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, with existing users moved into these accounts within 60 days.
Are Parental Controls changing?
Parents and guardians will have greater oversight with new control features. They will be able to see who their teen has recently messaged, however, they won’t be able to access their children’s conversations thus protecting their privacy.
Moreover, parents can set daily time limits, block the app for certain periods, and monitor topics their children have been viewing. These changes come amid rising pressure on social media platforms to protect young users, especially with the upcoming Online Safety Act.
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, acknowledges that while these changes may reduce teenage user numbers, they are essential for improving online safety. Campaigners, including the NSPCC, view these changes as progress but urge further action to protect children.
