Meta has officially launched Instagram Teen Accounts in India, which aims at creating a safer and more age-appropriate online space for teenagers. With built-in privacy settings, restricted interactions and parental controls, the new feature ensures that young users have a secure digital experience. 
Furthermore, Meta is introducing an age verification system to prevent minors from misrepresenting their age.

Instagram Teen Accounts: Key safety features

Meta has designed Instagram Teen Accounts with multiple security measures enabled by default for users under 16 years old (or under 18 in some cases). These include:

1. Private accounts: By default, teen accounts are private, allowing only approved followers to view posts and interact.
2. Messaging restrictions: Teen users can only receive messages from people they already follow.
3. Sensitive content control: The strictest content filter is automatically applied to reduce exposure to inappropriate content.
4. Limited interactions: Teen accounts cannot be tagged or mentioned by unknown users, and the Hidden Words feature filters offensive language.
5. Time limit reminders: Teens receive alerts after 60 minutes of daily app usage.
6. Sleep mode: Notifications are muted between 10 PM and 7 AM to promote healthy screen time habits.

Parental Supervision Features for Instagram Teen Accounts

To further enhance safety, Instagram Teen Accounts come with supervision tools for parents, allowing them to:

• Monitor recent conversations: Parents can view a list of people their teen has messaged in the past seven days (without reading messages).
• Set daily time limits: Once the set usage limit is reached, the teen cannot access Instagram.
• Restrict Instagram usage at certain hours: Parents can block access at night or at specific times.

With these new features, Meta aims to make Instagram a safer platform for teenagers in India, balancing privacy, security, and parental oversight.
WhatsApp is working on new creation tools to offer more customization options to users. The new feature is under the testing phase and it is expected to be rolled out in a future update.