Instagram innovates with teen accounts

Instagram, still under the aegis of the Meta group, recently announced a new feature dedicated to young users: Teen Accounts. This initiative aims to provide a safer environment for adolescents while allowing parents to exercise control over the use of the platform. In response to growing concerns about online safety, this novelty seeks to create a balance between freedom of use for young people and protection against digital dangers.

The main characteristics of teen accounts

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A default account in private mode

All accounts created by users between the ages of 13 and 17 will automatically be set to private mode. This means that only a narrow circle of approved people will be able to see their posts and interact with them. This option aims to reduce young people's exposure to unknown contacts and to minimize the risks of unwanted interactions.

Limits on the time of use

Instagram has also introduced restrictions on how long the app can be used. After 60 minutes of daily use, a notification is displayed to encourage the user to take a break. In addition, notifications are automatically deactivated between 22:00 and 07:00 to promote a “sleep mode”, thus helping young people to limit their exposure during the night.

Strengthened parental control

Parents have the ability to access information about the online activity of their teens, without violating their privacy. For example, they can see a list of people their child has recently exchanged messages with and manage settings such as which topics teens can see in the Explore section. They can also limit interactions to certain periods of time, thus blocking access to the application at specific times.

The motivations behind this initiative

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Meet legislative requirements

One of the main reasons for the introduction of Teen Accounts is compliance with new European regulations, in particular the Digital Services Act (DSA). This legal framework requires platforms to further protect young users from the risks associated with social networks, such as exposure to sensitive content or interactions with malicious individuals.

Limiting addiction to social networks

With growing concerns about social media addiction among young people, Instagram introduced these new restrictions to encourage more moderate and conscious use of the platform. Here, parents play a crucial role in managing their children's access to the app, thanks to new parental control tools.

Conclusion

By launching Teen Accounts, Instagram is trying to meet a growing demand for protection and security on social networks. This initiative combines parental control tools, automatic restrictions on sensitive content, and usage limits, thus offering a safer environment for adolescents while maintaining some autonomy in their use of the platform.