With this success rate of Instagram Teen Accounts, Meta has continued its work to support parents and teens to have a more user and age-friendly social media experience, finally unveiling Teen Accounts to both the Facebook and Messenger platforms.
Meta
In today’s digital age, ensuring the safety of children, especially teenagers, has become increasingly challenging as social media grows more popular among the youth. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become essential tools for staying connected with friends and even earning an independent income, making it nearly impossible to raise a teenager who isn’t active on at least one social media platform. Recognizing the need to create a safer online environment, Meta has introduced new initiatives designed to help parents and teens navigate social media more confidently. These efforts aim to make platforms more teen-friendly and reduce the risks associated with an internet space that is both creative and, at times, unsafe.
While TikTok continues to grow as one of the most popular platforms across the globe, Instagram continues to be a top choice among teens when it comes to social media usage. In order to create a safe space and reimagine the Instagram experience for teens and parents, Meta introduced Instagram Teen Accounts on September 17, 2024. The new Teen Accounts came with built-in protections which limited who can contact them and the content that they are exposed to. Additionally, the Teen Accounts also provide new ways for teens to explore their interests. This new Teen Account feature automatically places teens under the age of 16 into the accounts, which can only be changed out of the setting with parents’ permission, creating a safer space for young kids to use social media without falling victim to the thousands of predators trying to contact them.
On 8th April 2025, Meta shared the success rate of the Instagram Teens Accounts, revealing that since the changes were brought about, 97 percent of teens aged 13-15 have stayed within the built-in restrictions– being exposed to the most age-appropriate experience and content. With this success rate, Meta has continued its work to support parents and teens to have a more user and age-friendly social media experience. This work finally led to Meta announcing additional protections and expanding Teen Accounts to both the Facebook and Messenger platforms as of 8th April 2025.
Meta stated that the work being carried out to ensure safety through the Teen Accounts is to give parents more peace of mind across the Meta apps. Here are some of the features that are already available on Instagram Teen Accounts that will be similar on the new Facebook and Messenger Teen accounts.
Teens’ experiences on Instagram
The new Teens’ Experience on Instagram ensures that teens are safe with the right protections in place. The Teen Account allows teens to get access to new features build in just for them — letting teens select topics they want to see more of in their ‘Explore’ page and their recommendations, so they can focus on the fun and positive content that they love.
The built-in protections also address one of the biggest concerns among parents, which is who can contact their kids through social media. To address this concern, Meta has built in protections that are turned on automatically, which include:
In addition to the built-in features, Meta has also ensured that parents can have access to certain controls in Teen Accounts. This includes allowing insights into who their teens are chatting with, being able to set a total daily time limit for teens’ Instagram usage, the ability to block teens from using Instagram for specific time periods, as well as seeing topics that your teen is looking at. As Meta introduces the Teen Accounts to its other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Messenger, parents can expect similar functions and controls to ensure the safety of their teens on Meta platforms.
