Meta introduces new teen safety measures on Instagram and Facebook
What's the story
Meta has announced a series of safety updates for teen accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. The changes are aimed at creating age-appropriate online experiences for teens, providing parents with more oversight into their children's activities, and enhancing wellbeing safeguards. The company is rolling out its 13+ content settings globally across all three platforms to minimize teens' exposure to inappropriate content.
Enhanced protection
13+ default setting on Facebook
The new 13+ default setting on Facebook will hide inappropriate content in Feed and Reels. It will also limit interactions with profiles, pages, groups, and events that primarily share such content. On Messenger, teens will have restricted access to links leading to inappropriate Facebook content and chatting with accounts mainly sharing such material. The changes are part of Meta's commitment to ensuring age-appropriate experiences for teens by default.
Tech upgrade
Expanding AI-powered age assurance measures
Meta is also expanding its AI-powered age assurance measures to identify underage users and place them in age-appropriate experiences. The company's AI systems already analyze contextual signals across profiles, including posts, comments, captions, and bios, to determine if an account may belong to an underage user. This technology will now be extended to Instagram Reels, Instagram Live, and Facebook Groups for better identification of underage accounts.
New feature
Visual analysis for age detection
Meta is also adding visual analysis as part of its age-detection efforts. The technology scans photos and videos for general age-related indicators such as height and bone structure. However, Meta clarified that the system isn't facial recognition and isn't meant to identify specific individuals. Instead, it estimates a person's general age using visual cues combined with information from text-based signals and interactions to improve detection of underage accounts.
Alert system
New parental alert feature on Instagram
Meta is also introducing a new parental alert feature on Instagram. Parents using the platform's supervision tools will be notified if their teen repeatedly searches for terms related to suicide or self-harm within a short period. The company said both parents and teens will start receiving notifications about these alerts from June 18, as part of its commitment to keeping teens safe online.
Control hub
Updated Family Center for parental supervision
Meta has also updated its Family Center, a parental supervision hub. Parents can now manage activity across Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Meta Horizon from a single dashboard instead of navigating separate settings across apps. The company plans to add broader cross-platform insights in the coming months, including aggregated data on the time teens spend across its services. This update is part of Meta's ongoing efforts to improve safety measures for teen users on its platforms.