Meta has introduced new safety features for Instagram accounts that mainly show children, to protect them from harmful behavior better online. These changes focus on accounts run by adults such as parents or talent managers that regularly post photos or videos of children. Instagram will now automatically place these accounts into the strictest message settings which limits who can send them messages. The platform’s “Hidden Words” feature will also be turned on to filter out offensive or inappropriate comments.
Meta says the update is meant to prevent abuse as some people have used these accounts to leave sexualized comments or ask for explicit images which is against the platform’s rules. To address this Instagram will try to stop suspicious adults including those blocked by teens from finding these child focused accounts. The platform will also avoid suggesting these users to one another in search results or recommendations. This move comes as social media’s impact on mental health especially among children and teens is under heavy scrutiny.
The U.S. surgeon general and several states have raised concerns with some even pushing for laws that require parental permission for kids to use these platforms. Accounts belonging to family vloggers and kid influencers often run by parents have been at the center of this debate. A past investigation showed that many of these accounts attracted large numbers of male followers and that some parents may have knowingly taken part in their children’s exploitation.
In addition to the updates for child-focused accounts. Instagram is also making changes to protect teens. Teen users will now see safety tips in their DMs, and the month and year an account joined Instagram will be shown at the top of new conversations. There’s also a new feature that lets users block and report someone at the same time. Meta said that in June, teens used these safety notices to block and report accounts more than a million times each. These updates show an apparent effort by Meta to improve safety for younger users and reduce harmful behavior on the platform.
