Instagram announced on Tuesday that it is rolling out its Teen Accounts feature in India, one of its largest markets with over 350 million users. This new feature introduces enhanced safety measures designed to protect young users on the platform. Initially launched last year in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, Teen Accounts were automatically assigned to Instagram users under the age of 16, incorporating default restrictions for a safer digital experience. These accounts are private by default and come with content controls, interaction limits, messaging restrictions, time management features, and sleep mode.
According to Natasha Jog, Director of Public Policy India at Instagram, Meta is committed to fostering a more secure and responsible online space. By expanding Teen Accounts to India, the company aims to strengthen safeguards, improve content moderation, and provide parents with additional tools to oversee their children’s online activities while ensuring a safer digital environment for teenagers.
With this setup, users below 16 require parental or guardian approval before making certain account changes. Additionally, parents of teens over 16 have the option to activate supervision settings. Although parents can monitor their child’s interactions, they will not have access to view private messages. Other parental controls include setting daily usage limits and restricting app access during specific times.
To enhance security further, Meta has placed limitations on who can send messages to teens, allowing only people they are already connected with to contact them. The company defines “connected people” as users who are either mutual friends on Meta platforms or have previously interacted via direct messages without necessarily following each other. Furthermore, teens can only be tagged in posts by individuals they follow.
Instagram is also implementing stricter content moderation by automatically filtering out offensive words and phrases from teen accounts. The platform is working to remove content related to violence or the promotion of cosmetic products from the Explore and Reels sections. To personalize their feed, teens can select categories such as Soccer, Dance, Music & Audio, Food & Drink, Cats, and Computer Science, ensuring their Explore page aligns with their interests.
To verify user ages and prevent minors from misrepresenting their age, Meta is incorporating methods such as ID verification and video selfie analysis. The launch of Teen Accounts in India coincides with the country’s evolving data protection regulations. Last month, India proposed draft rules stating that companies cannot process data of users under 18 without verifiable parental consent, potentially requiring platforms to implement additional safeguards if these regulations are finalized.
