Meta Expands Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger
Social media can be a great way to connect with friends and family, but it can also be dangerous, especially for children and young people. Although modern social networks like Facebook have been around for over 20 years, figuring out how to make these apps and sites safe for minors is still a challenge.
Despite all its shortcomings, Meta is making some efforts in this area. Last year, the company announced the creation of teen Instagram accounts . All user accounts under 18 are automatically converted to this new format, which includes a number of protections not found on typical Instagram accounts. For example, teen accounts are private by default, so new followers must be accepted one at a time. Non-followers cannot see their posts, send private messages, tag or mention them in posts.
There are also a number of content filters associated with teen accounts, as the app blocks violent content as well as posts promoting beauty treatments. Additionally, teen accounts receive reminders to log out of Instagram after 60 minutes of screen time, and a built-in sleep mode is activated between 10pm and 7am, allowing them to mute alerts and send automatic replies to any incoming direct messages.
While users aged 16 and 17 can change these settings as they wish, users under 16 cannot do so without parental permission. Meta seems pleased with the results, so it’s no surprise that the company is expanding the capabilities of teen accounts on Facebook and Messenger, as well as increasing the number of protections built into those accounts.
Teen Facebook and Messenger accounts
Meta announced these changes to the teen account on its blog Tuesday . In addition to Instagram, teen accounts will be available to Facebook and Messenger users in the US, UK, Australia and Canada; There are plans to add more regions in the near future.
As with teen accounts on Instagram, accounts of users under 18 will automatically be converted to teen accounts. Before this transition occurs, users will see a warning at the top of their apps informing them of the settings Meta plans to change.
What’s new in teen accounts
Teen Facebook and Messenger accounts have received the same protections as teen Instagram accounts since last year. However, Meta is introducing new restrictions specifically for teen Instagram accounts.
This includes prohibiting live streaming for users under 16 years of age. If these users want to go live on Instagram, they will need parental permission to enable this setting. Additionally, these users will need parental consent to disable a feature that blurs images containing suggestive nudity in private messages.
My guess is that the vast majority of parents will want to disable these settings on their teens’ Instagram accounts. Meta too: The company says 97% of users aged 13-15 keep these protections turned on by default.
How to Manage Your Teen’s Meta Accounts
As mentioned earlier, teen accounts are created automatically. If your teen has an Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger account, their account will switch to the teen’s account without your involvement.
If your teen is 16 years or older, they will have the opportunity to customize these settings themselves. However, teens under 16 not only need your permission to change settings, they first need to set up parental controls so you can change those settings in the first place. Otherwise, they will be subject to restrictions on teen accounts until they are 16 years old.
To do this on Instagram, open the app, go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner and select Family Center . Click Invite a Teen and select your child from the list of users. Click “Invite” to send an invitation. You’ll find a similar invite link setup in Messenger and Facebook: Open the app, go to Menu > Settings (Settings and Privacy on Facebook) > Family Center , then share the invite link the app generates for you.
Once set up, you’ll be able to manage your teen’s permissions in this Family Center chat. This includes options such as who can send them private messages, who can mention or tag them, what content they can see and film, sleep mode settings, and time limit options. However, this isn’t a “big brother” situation: Meta says you can’t see your teen’s search history or private messages, post as them, or reset their password. Here they maintain a significant degree of privacy: you simply control the above permissions. When your teen tries to change a restricted setting, the app will tell them that they need your permission to do so.