Instagram is once again rolling out safety features for underage users — this time, automatic “teen accounts” for underage users.
Those under 18 will automatically be subject to limitations on who can message them, how much “sensitive” content is recommended and who can see their profiles. Users under 16 won’t be able to change these settings without permission from a parent account — unless they successfully misrepresent their age at sign-up. (Parents will receive a notification about the attempted change, which they can approve or deny.)
It’s the latest in a number of incremental changes to the app’s privacy settings and algorithmic recommendations in the name of child safety — some of which debuted just days before congressional hearings about risks to kids online. But Meta-owned Instagram isn’t the only app that claims to be beefing up its protections for young users. Snapchat, YouTube and Spotify have also recently introduced new settings for parents to keep an eye on their teens. Many of these features require some setup, so parents must take the initiative to turn them on.
It’s still unclear how effective these features are at minimizing negative experiences for young people on social media — and how often teens can work around them. In 2022, for instance, Instagram added an age verification step when underage accounts try to change their birthdays to appear older — but kids could still choose whatever birthday they wanted when setting up a new account. In conjunction with the new teen accounts, Meta says it will require an ID check any time teens try to use an adult account, which could stop them from spinning up fake parents.
Here’s how to use the latest teen safety features from Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. For tips on more apps including TikTok, Switch and Discord, check out our guide.
Teen accounts on Instagram
Your teen’s account will automatically be subject to age-based restrictions — Instagram even claims it will use artificial intelligence to scan accounts for teens lying about their age. (This may also help advertisers, who can target teen accounts based on age and geography.)
But you’ll need to visit Meta’s Family Center if you want to tweak any of the settings or prevent your 17- or 18-year-old from opting out of the restrictions.
For example: Teen accounts come with a new “sleep mode” that mutes notifications automatically between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., but your teen can still scroll away at night if you don’t select the “block teen from Instagram” option under Time Management. You can adjust the time windows when the app is blocked or set daily time limits for Instagram use.
Now, Family Center will also show which accounts your teen has been direct messaging on Instagram, though not the content of those messages.
Public posting on Snapchat
This month, Snapchat started letting 16- and 17-year-old users post publicly, rather than only in private stories and messages to friends. They can create public posts from their stories or post short-form “Spotlight” videos.
With the change comes some built-in limitations (teens’ public posts won’t get recommended to people they don’t share any social connections with, the company says) as well as oversight options for parents. To use them, you’ll need to create an account in the Snapchat app. Then, go to the main tab and tap the Settings gear icon in the top right corner. Scroll down to the cluster of options under “Privacy Controls” and select Family Center. Tap Continue and invite your teen to link accounts. Once they accept, you’ll be able to go to the Content & Privacy section of Family Center and see whether your teen has been posting publicly. The idea is to talk with them about the benefits and risks of sharing publicly, including possible ramifications for school sports, college admissions and future jobs.
Public posting on YouTube
This month, YouTube, the most popular app among teens, according to 2023 data from Pew Research, launched linked accounts that give parents more visibility into their teens’ activity on the app. The update is still rolling out, so you might have to wait a few weeks before it shows up.
The new feature focuses mainly on teens who share their own videos on YouTube, allowing parents to see the number of video uploads, subscriptions and comments on teens’ accounts. It will also alert parents if teens start a live stream or post a new video. Parents still can’t see which videos their teens watch, though last year the app said it would cut back on recommending videos that “could be problematic” if viewed repeatedly, such as content comparing different bodies.
To set up linked accounts, you’ll need to create a YouTube account, go to Settings in the main menu, then scroll down to Family Center.