Instagram Introduces Comprehensive Privacy Overhaul for Minors
On Tuesday, Instagram announced a significant overhaul aimed at enhancing privacy and mitigating the potentially harmful impact of social media on users under 18. This move comes in response to mounting pressure regarding the safety of children online.
The platform, which is owned by Meta, revealed that it will automatically set the accounts of users under the age of 18 to private by default in the upcoming weeks. This means that only followers whom a minor has approved will be able to view their posts and activities. Furthermore, Instagram intends to implement a new policy that prevents minors from receiving notifications between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., promoting healthier sleep habits.
Additionally, Instagram is launching enhanced supervision tools for parents. One of the key features will allow parents to view the accounts that their teenagers have recently messaged, enabling greater oversight of their children’s online interactions.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, emphasized that these new settings and features are specifically designed to tackle the primary concerns that parents have regarding their children’s online presence. These concerns include:
- Inappropriate contact with strangers
- Exposure to unsuitable content
- Excessive screen time
“We decided to focus on what parents think because they know better what’s appropriate for their children than any tech company, politician, or regulator,” Mosseri stated in an interview.
Instagram’s initiative, dubbed “Teen Accounts,” aims to create a more age-appropriate experience for young users on the app. Mosseri remarked, “This is about essentially defaulting minors into a safer online environment.”
The changes represent one of the most extensive sets of measures undertaken by a social media platform to protect teenagers as concerns about their online experiences continue to escalate. In recent years, various advocacy groups, parents, and child safety organizations have raised alarms about the risks associated with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, which have been linked to issues such as bullying, predatory behavior, sexual exploitation, and content that promotes self-harm and eating disorders.
