What Parents Need to Know About Instagram’s New Control Feature
We all know that Instagram is useless, but it’s especially bad for teenagers. Facebook’s own data (revealed last fall, before Meta came along) showed Instagram’s negative impact on the mental health of teen users, though some say the larger study doesn’t support such clear-cut findings .
Whether you’re a parent or guardian of a teenager, you may need a little more information about their use of Instagram. Meta recently introduced a set of parental controls called Supervision, which offers limited monitoring options and is only available in the United States for now.
While this new feature allows parents and guardians to set time limits for using the app and get updates on who (and who) teens are following, it must be initiated by the teen’s account. The meta indicates that in the future, caregivers will be able to set up supervision as well as set the hours when their teen can access Instagram.
Here’s how you can use what Supervision has to offer .
How to set up supervision on Instagram
For now, teens aged 13-17 must initiate a supervising request by sending an invitation to their parent or guardian, who must also have an Instagram account (or create one).
Ask your teen to open their Instagram app, go to their profile page, and tap on the three vertical lines in the top right corner. Tap Settings > Controls > Next . Select Set up control and choose how you want to send the invitation link to a parent or guardian.
To accept the invitation, open Instagram and sign in with the account you want to use for control. Then, open the invite link in any messaging app, which will open the Instagram Family Center. Click Next > Accept Invitation .
How to set up controls on Instagram
To change your teen’s Instagram time limit, go to Settings > Controls > Accounts You Follow and select your teen’s account. Click “Set Limit”, select a limit and click “Save”. You can also see their Instagram time for the last 7 days here.
You can also view your teen’s followers and followers lists. With your teen account selected, tap Followers & Followers > Details .