Instagram Teen Accounts: what are they, how do they work and how to turn it on?

• Instagram has introduced Teen Accounts for younger users.
• They feature in-built protections designed to reassure parents that teens are having safe experiences.
• Measures are switched on automatically and teens will need parents’ permission to change them.

So your teenagers are wanting to join Instagram but you are worried about them being online for all to see. You will be pleased to learn that the social media platform has announced a series of protections designed specifically for teens.

The age of social media has brought many benefits, but it has also raised plenty of concerns about privacy. If you have children who are coming of age in this new digital world it is a tricky tightrope to walk when they decide they want to download the popular apps and you have to decide if the time is right to allow it.

Instagram being based around sharing photos and videos raises even more concerns when it comes to privacy. But the platform has just announced it is introducing specific measures designed to protect your teens when they set up an account.

Here’s all you need to know:

What are Instagram Teen Accounts?

Announced in September, Teen Accounts is a new feature on Instagram designed to reassure parents that teens are having safe experiences with built-in protections which are switched on automatically. The social media company says that it will automatically place teens into Teen Accounts when they join the platform - and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.

In the announcement for Teen Accounts, Instagram explained: “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. 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.”

But it is not just designed with parents in mind, teens will get access to a new feature designed just for them. Learn more about that in the following section.

What features do Teen Accounts have?

The new accounts for young people will have built-in protections which have been designed to address parents’ “top concerns”, according to Instagram. The protections will be turned on automatically - and if you are worried about your kids trying to turn them off, under 16s will need parental permission to make them less strict.

The protections include the following features:

• Private accounts: With default private accounts, teens need to accept new followers and people who don’t follow them can’t see their content or interact with them. This applies to all teens under 16 (including those already on Instagram and those signing up) and teens under 18 when they sign up for the app.
• Messaging restrictions: Teens will be placed in the strictest messaging settings, so they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to.
• Sensitive content restrictions: Teens will automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of our sensitive content control, which limits the type of sensitive content (such as content that shows people fighting or promotes cosmetic procedures) teens see in places like Explore and Reels.
• Limited interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. We’ll also automatically turn on the most restrictive version of our anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, so that offensive words and phrases will be filtered out of teens’ comments and DM requests.
• Time limit reminders: Teens will get notifications telling them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day.

Sleep mode enabled:Sleep mode will be turned on between 10 PM and 7 AM, which will mute notifications overnight and send auto-replies to DMs.

Delivering a verdict on the protections, Yvonne Johnson, President, National PTA said: “Given that parents today are grappling with the benefits and challenges of the internet and digital media for their teens, our association applauds Meta for launching Instagram Teen Accounts. With teens automatically placed in Teen Accounts and certain privacy settings turned on by default, this update demonstrates that Meta is taking steps to empower parents and deliver safer, more age-appropriate experiences on the platform.”

Teen Accounts to get feature just for them

It is not just all about safety measures, 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.

How to approve changes to a teen’s settings

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. If parents want more oversight over their older teen’s (16+) experiences, they simply have to turn on parental supervision. Then, they can approve any changes to these settings, irrespective of their teen’s age.

Once supervision is established, parents can approve and deny their teens’ requests to change settings or allow teens to manage their settings themselves. Soon, parents will also be able to change these settings directly to be more protective.

What do you think of the protections in place for Teen Accounts, will they work and do they go far enough? Share your thoughts by emailing our tech writer:[email protected].