18 September 2024 | 16:51

Instagram introduces teen accounts: What you need to know

©️ Depositphotos.com / Guasch_foto_grafic

Tengrinews.kz - Instagram has announced new features regarding accounts for teenagers. These changes will initially be available in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia, rolling out gradually over the next 60 days. Updates are expected to reach EU residents later this year, with a global rollout planned for January 2025.

Tengrinews.kz - Instagram has announced new features regarding accounts for teenagers. These changes will initially be available in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia, rolling out gradually over the next 60 days. Updates are expected to reach EU residents later this year, with a global rollout planned for January 2025.

All registered users under 16 will automatically receive these "teen accounts," as will any new accounts for users under 18.

"Since teens can lie about their age, we require age verification in more places, such as when trying to create a new account with adult birth date information. We're also developing technology to proactively identify accounts belonging to teens, even if the profile shows an adult birth date. This will allow us to establish the same protective measures as those in teen account settings. We'll begin testing this change in the USA early next year," Instagram stated.

Changes to expect

Teen accounts will automatically be set to private, meaning only approved followers can see their content and interact with them. New followers can only be added with the account owner's approval, applying to all users under 16 and to those under 18 when they register.

Content recommendations will also change. For instance, videos featuring violence or advertising cosmetic procedures will not be shown to teens.

Additionally, a sleep mode will be activated from 10 PM to 7 AM, disabling notifications at night and sending auto-replies to direct messages. Teens will receive notifications to log out of the app after 60 minutes of use each day.

Instagram will filter out "bullying words" in messages, promising to screen out offensive words and phrases in comments and direct messages from teens.

The new protections aim to address parents' concerns about whom their teens interact with online, the content they see, and how they spend their time. These features will be automatically enabled, and parents can choose whether teens under 16 can adjust these settings to be less strict.

Reports suggest that teens aged 16 to 18 will be able to disable these restrictions on their own. However, if parents wish to enhance control over their older teens' activities, they can simply enable parental controls.

After parental controls are activated, parents can approve or deny their teen's requests to modify settings or allow them to manage their settings independently.

Notably, while parents cannot read their teens' messages, they will be able to see whom their child has messaged over the past seven days.

"Parents can easily restrict their teens from using Instagram at night or during certain times. They can also view age-appropriate topics their teen has chosen to follow based on their interests," the company stated.

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