In its continued effort to safeguard young users and foster a safer online environment, Meta has recently updated its parental supervision tools on Instagram and Facebook. These updates, building upon existing features, aim to give parents more control and insight into their teen's online activities, while also empowering teens with greater autonomy and awareness.
One of the key updates involves extending the "Teen Accounts" system to Facebook and Messenger. This system, initially launched on Instagram, provides automatic protections for teen accounts, addressing issues such as unwanted contact, exposure to sensitive content, and excessive time spent on the platforms. With the expansion, these protections will now be available to teens using Facebook and Messenger, creating a more consistent safety experience across Meta's suite of apps.
Specifically, the updated parental supervision tools on Instagram now include new restrictions for Instagram Live and the platform's nudity protection feature. Teenagers under 16 will require parental permission to use the live stream function. They will also need approval to disable the feature that automatically blurs images containing potential nudity in messages. These changes aim to prevent teens from being exposed to inappropriate content or engaging in risky behaviors without parental knowledge or consent.
Beyond these new restrictions, Meta continues to offer a range of parental supervision features. Parents can already set time limits for their teen's Instagram use, view who their teen follows and who follows them, and receive notifications when their teen reports an account or post. Furthermore, parents are now prompted to approve or deny their teen's requests to change default safety and privacy settings to less strict options. This ensures that teens cannot easily bypass the safety measures put in place by their parents.
Meta has also implemented stricter default message settings for teens. By default, teens under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) can only receive messages from people they already follow or are connected to. This helps protect teens from unwanted contact from strangers and potential online predators. If a teen attempts to change this setting to allow messages from anyone, their parents will receive a notification and can either approve or deny the request.
In addition to parental supervision tools, Meta has introduced several features designed to promote teen well-being and responsible social media use. These include "nudges" that encourage teens to switch to a different topic if they're repeatedly looking at the same type of content on Explore, as well as reminders to take breaks and close the app at night. The "Quiet Mode" feature allows users to turn off notifications and create auto-replies to signal that they don't want to be disturbed, helping them set boundaries with their followers.
These updates reflect Meta's ongoing commitment to creating a safe and positive online experience for young users. By providing parents with greater control and insight, while also empowering teens with age-appropriate safety features and well-being tools, Meta hopes to foster responsible social media use and protect teens from potential harm.
