Instagram will force teenagers to have a private account, enable sleep mode after 10 PM

• Instagram has announced Teen Accounts, a new feature aimed at offering more control to parents.
• The new feature will restrict how children can use Instagram, allowing parents more supervision.
• The Teen Account feature will apply to users below 18 years of age.

In a bid to offer parents more control over how their teenage children use social media, Meta-owned image sharing platform Instagram has announced Teen Accounts.

The social media platform, which has a significant user base among teenagers, is implementing these changes to foster a safer and more positive online environment, offering “peace of mind” for both parents and children.

Instagram will automatically place teenagers into the new Teen Accounts and teenagers under 16 years will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings.

Teen accounts are set to private by default, limiting interactions with unknown adults and filtering out potentially harmful content. Instagram also provides educational resources to help teenagers navigate the digital world responsibly.

Teenagers will also get access to a new feature that will allow them to select topics they want to see more of in Explore and their recommendations, preventing unwanted content from popping up in their feeds.

Instagram Teen Account features

Private accounts

Teenagers will placed into private accounts by default and they will have to accept new followers and people who don’t follow them will not be able to see their content or interact with them.

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, preventing unwanted or unknown people from contacting them.

Sensitive content restrictions

Teens will automatically be placed into the most restrictive setting of Instagram’s sensitive content control, which limits the type of sensitive content teens see in places like Explore and Reels.

Time limit reminders

Teens will get notifications telling them to stop using the app after 60 minutes each day.

Sleep mode

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

Limited interactions

Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow. Instagram will also turn on the most restrictive version of the app’s anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words so that offensive words and phrases will be filtered out of teens’ comments and message requests.

How to change settings in the Instagram Teen Account?

Teenagers under 16 years 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.

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