Overview
- Meta has begun placing all Instagram users under 18 into a PG-13 content setting by default that limits sexually suggestive, violent or otherwise mature material, with no opt-out unless a parent approves.
- Users under 16 receive the strictest controls that cannot be loosened without consent, while 16- and 17-year-olds can request changes through Family Center parental approval.
- An optional Limited Content mode will offer stricter limits by removing comments and filtering more material, and Instagram’s AI features will follow PG-13 guidance with further chatbot restrictions planned for next year.
- The rollout is underway in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada with completion targeted by year-end and broader expansion to follow, while Meta is also extending its teen accounts program to Facebook and Messenger.
- Independent researchers and experts warn many past safety tools underperformed and that teens can evade age-based protections by lying about their age or using VPNs, and Instagram supervision will stop covering Threads profiles in November.