What are Instagram's 'Teen Accounts' and will they make the app safer?

Instagram has made a major concession to child safety concerns and introduced strictly regulated ‘Teen Accounts’ with protections turned on by default for all under-16 users.

Teen Accounts are automatically private and subject to strict content settings, with restrictions on messaging and tagging - which can only be unlocked by parents.

The move follows increasing controversy over young people’s use of social media apps, with parent company Meta having promised to deliver new functions to reduce teenagers’ time on the app. They also said they would block young people from seeing content about self-harm and eating disorders.

High-profile cases such as the suicide of Molly Russell in 2017, who had watched 17 videos relating to self-harm on Instagram, have helped to put regulatory pressure on Big Tech to protect users. The Online Safety Act due to come into force next year will require firms to protect children from such content.

With organisations such as Smartphone Free Childhood putting pressure on schools to ban devices and celebrities such as Penelope Cruz banning their children from smart technology, just a third of parents currently use existing child safety mechanisms on smartphones, hence Meta’s new ‘on by default’ approach.

Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, now Meta’s president of global affairs, said the aim of the change was to “shift the balance in favour of parents” when it came to using parental controls.

What are the Instagram age restrictions?

Under-16s will now need a parent’s permission to change any of the new default settings which will be applied to their account.

Teen Accounts have messaging restrictions limiting users to contact only those they are already connected with.

Teen Accounts have their interactions limited so that only people they follow can tag or mention them, and users will be sent a notification telling them to leave the app after an hour’s use each day.

Teen users will have sleep mode on by default, which will mute notifications and auto-reply to direct messages between 10pm and 7am each day.

Alongside the protections, parents will also have the option to see who their teenagers have been messaging in the past seven days – though not the messages themselves, set daily time limits for Instagram app usage, block app use for specific time periods and see the topics their child has been looking at.

How can my child sign up for Instagram Teen Accounts?

New teenage users who sign up to Instagram from today will be placed into a Teen Account, Meta said, with existing users set to begin being moved onto the new system next week.

Under the plans, teenagers in the UK, US, Canada and Australia will be placed on the new accounts within two months, and those in the EU later this year.

All teens in these countries already using Instagram will be moved into a Teen Account within 60 days.

Meta said in an official announcement: "We know parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences.

"We understand parents’ concerns, and that’s why we’re reimagining our apps for teens with new Teen Accounts. This new experience is designed to better support parents, and give them peace of mind that their teens are safe with the right protections in place. Teens will also get access to a new feature, made just for them, that lets them select topics they want to see more of in Explore and their recommendations so they can focus on the fun, positive content they love."

Can you disable Instagram Teen Accounts?

Teens under 16 can only change these settings with a parent’s permission, and Instagram detects teenage accounts and places the settings on by default.

Teens under 16 will need their parent’s permission to use less protective settings.

To get permission, teens will need to set up parental supervision on Instagram, where a parent oversees their account.

If parents want more oversight over their older teen's (16+) experiences, they can also turn on parental supervision.

Meta says it designed two levels of protection to reflect the different needs of older and younger teenagers.

Child safety expert Rachel Rodgers, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology at Northeastern University said: “Instagram Teen Accounts reflect the importance of tailoring teens’ online experiences to their developmental stages, and implementing appropriate protections.

"Younger adolescents are more vulnerable as their skills are still emerging and require additional safeguards and protection. Overall, the settings are age-specific, with younger and older teens being offered different protections.”

Samaritans can be contacted for free, 24/7, on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org