Instagram Teen Accounts explained
What Instagram's Teen Accounts do automatically, which settings under-16s need a parent to change, and how to set up supervision.
- Teens on Instagram are placed into Teen Accounts with private profiles and limited messaging by default.
- Under-16s need a parent's permission to loosen key settings, through supervision.
- Sleep mode and time reminders are built in, but conversations still matter.
Instagram introduced Teen Accounts in 2024, and has rolled them out widely since. Teens are placed into them automatically, based on the age they gave or Meta's age estimation, and the strictest settings are on by default.
What Teen Accounts do
These are the main protections, though details can change:
- Private by default. New followers have to be approved.
- Messaging restrictions. Teens can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to.
- Sensitive content control set to the most restrictive level, limiting mature content in Explore and Reels. Meta has said teen content settings are guided by a PG-13 style standard.
- Limited interactions. Only people they follow can tag or mention them, and offensive comments and message requests are filtered.
- Time limit reminders after 60 minutes of use a day.
- Sleep mode from 10 PM to 7 AM, muting notifications and sending auto-replies.
Under 16 vs 16 and 17
- Under 16: need a parent's permission, through supervision, to change any of the protective settings to less strict ones.
- 16 and 17: can change settings themselves, although parents can still supervise if the teen agrees.
Setting up supervision
Supervision is set up in Settings, Family Center (or Supervision) in Instagram, or through Meta's Family Center. Either you or your teen sends an invite, and the other accepts.
With supervision, depending on region, you can:
- Approve or deny requests to change settings (for under-16s)
- See who your teen has messaged in the past week (not the messages)
- Set daily time limits
- Block Instagram at certain times, like at night
- See topics your teen has chosen to see
What Teen Accounts don't do
- Stop teens lying about their age. Meta uses age estimation to catch some cases, but not all. Make sure your teen's account has their real birthday.
- Catch every harmful post or comment.
- Stop body image pressure. Even within filtered content, comparison is a real issue. See social media and self-esteem.
- Stop contact through other apps. Groomers often try to move teens to other apps.
Talk about
- What they enjoy on Instagram and who they follow
- How comparisons make them feel
- What to do if someone sends a message that feels wrong
- Why the settings exist
See also Facebook privacy settings for teens and social media safety.
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