Instagram Launches Teen Accounts with Enhanced Safety Features in India: A New Era for Young Users

Instagram has officially launched its Teen Accounts feature in India, enhancing safety measures for its younger users. With over 350 million users in India, this initiative aims to create a more secure environment for teenagers on one of the platform’s largest user bases.

Overview of Teen Accounts

The Teen Accounts feature was first introduced in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia last year. Instagram has now migrated accounts of users under the age of 16 to these new account types, which come with default privacy settings and restrictions designed to promote a safer user experience.

Key Features of Teen Accounts

• Private by Default: Teen accounts are set to private by default, ensuring that only approved followers can see their content.
• Messaging Restrictions: Teens can only receive messages from users they are connected with.
• Content Controls: Enhanced content filtering is in place to block offensive language and inappropriate content.
• Interaction Limits: Restrictions on who can tag or mention teens to further protect their privacy.
• Usage Reminders: Daily time limit reminders and sleep mode features help encourage healthy usage habits.

Parental Supervision Options

As part of the new features, parents or guardians have the ability to supervise their children’s accounts:

• Parents must give permission for users under 16 to change specific account settings.
• Parents of users over 16 can opt to supervise their teen’s account, allowing them to monitor interactions.
• Interaction Visibility: While parents can see who their children are interacting with, they cannot view the messages exchanged.
• Daily Limits: Parents can set daily usage limits and block access during certain hours.

Content Safety Measures

Meta is committed to enhancing the safety of teen users through various content control measures:

• Only allowing messages from connected users, which is defined by mutual connections on Meta platforms.
• Automatic filtering of offensive words and phrases from teen accounts.
• Removal of inappropriate content such as fighting or promotional material related to cosmetics from the explore page and Reels.
• Teens can choose specific interests like Soccer, Crafts, Dance, Music, Cats, Food, and Computer Science to personalize their Explore page.

Age Verification Methods

To tackle the issue of age misrepresentation, Meta is implementing various age verification methods. These include:

• ID verification processes.
• Recording video selfies for verification purposes.

Upcoming Regulatory Changes

Recently, India proposed draft rules related to its data protection law, which may impact how platforms like Instagram operate. These regulations stipulate that companies cannot process data from users under 18 without verifiable parental consent. If finalized, these rules could necessitate additional protective measures on social media platforms.

For more information on Instagram’s initiatives and updates, visit the official Instagram blog or check out Meta’s website.