New: Instagram Teen Accounts

The safety of teenagers on social networks is one of the biggest concerns for parents and guardians. With this in mind, Instagram recently introduced “Teen Accounts”, an initiative that aims to provide a safer environment for young people and offer peace of mind to parents. With built-in protection measures, this new feature is designed to ensure that teenagers have positive and safe experiences online, while exploring their interests.

What are Instagram Teen Accounts?

Teen Accounts is a new experience created by Instagram, which includes a series of automatic protections for teens under the age of 16. This overhaul of the way teenagers interact with the platform aims to provide a more controlled environment, limiting the content they can view, who can contact them and the time they spend on the app.
One of the biggest advantages of this new feature is that teenagers will automatically be placed in these accounts, and parents or guardians will have to approve any changes that affect the security of the built-in protections.

Main features of Teen Accounts

Instagram Teen Accounts have been developed with the most common concerns of parents and guardians in mind. Here are some of the automatic protections implemented:

1. Private accounts 
Teenagers will have their accounts set to private by default, which means that only people they accept as followers will be able to see their content and interact with them.
 

2. Message restrictions
Teenagers will only be able to receive messages from people they already follow or with whom they are already connected. This is one of the most important measures for limiting unwanted contact.
 

3. Sensitive content control
Instagram will automatically put teenagers on the most restrictive setting for sensitive content. This ensures that they won't have access to inappropriate content, such as violent videos or invasive cosmetic procedures.
 

4. Limited interactions
Teenagers can only be identified or mentioned by people who follow them. In addition, the Hidden Words tool will be active by default, blocking comments and direct messages with offensive words or phrases.
 

5. Time limits and sleep mode
After 60 minutes of daily use, Instagram will send a notification to the teenager, suggesting that they close the app. In addition, Rest Mode will be active between 10pm and 7am, silencing notifications and limiting the time spent online at night.

The role of parents: how to supervise and approve changes

For teenagers under 16, any changes to the stricter protections will require the permission of a parent or guardian. This means that if a teenager wants to change privacy settings or lower the level of protection, they will need to activate the Parental Supervision feature.

This supervision will allow parents to approve or reject teenagers' requests to modify these settings and even set time limits for using the application. The new supervision tools also allow parents to see what topics their teenagers are exploring and control who they interact with on Instagram.

When will these changes be made?

Instagram Teen Accounts are being implemented gradually. Since last month, teenagers who register on Instagram will automatically be placed in Teen Accounts. Those who already have an account will receive a notification about the changes, which will begin to be applied next week.

In terms of timing, Instagram plans to finalize the transition to Teen Accounts within 60 days in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. For the European Union, this change should happen by the end of the year, while in the other regions of the world, Teen Accounts will be implemented in January next year. This is a significant update that will change the experience of millions of teenagers on the platform.

Instagram Teen Accounts are a significant step towards providing greater safety for young people on social networks and peace of mind for parents. With automatic protections and supervision tools, teens can now explore the platform more safely, while parents retain some control over their children's activities. This new experience makes Instagram a safer place for younger generations, promoting responsible and healthy use.

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