Meta expands teen safety features across platforms
Meta announced a new set of safety features for teen users across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, part of an ongoing effort to create a safer digital environment for adolescents on its platforms.
The updates, announced Tuesday, will roll out over the next few months, and include expanded restrictions for users under 16, such as:
- Parental approval now required to go live on Instagram: Teens can no longer use Instagram Live unless a parent or guardian explicitly enables the feature.
- Mandatory nudity protection in DMs: Any image flagged by Meta's AI as potentially explicit will be automatically blurred and paired with educational messaging. This setting is on by default and cannot be disabled by users under 16.
- Expansion of Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger: Originally launched on Instagram in late 2023, Teen Accounts come with built-in privacy and content controls. Meta says this cross-platform rollout ensures consistent protections as young users move between apps.
Children must be at least 13 years old to create an account on any Meta-owned platform, in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Meta introduced Teen Accounts last year in response to growing concerns about social media's impact on youth mental health and safety.
A 2023 U.S. Surgeon General advisory warned that social platforms can expose adolescents to harmful content, cyberbullying, and exploitation. The expansion of these protections comes as lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. and Europe continue to scrutinize how tech companies safeguard young users.
Expert concerns over gaps in Meta's approach
While the updates mark a continuation of Meta's safety efforts, some online safety experts say the changes fall short of addressing deeper risks.
Titania Jordan, chief marketing officer and chief parent officer of Bark Technologies, an online safety company focused on kids, said she's concerned the new protections don't apply to children who register accounts using fake ages or who maintain hidden profiles.
"My concern is for the kids who have an adult account after entering in a fake age, which Instagram still makes incredibly easy to do," Jordan tells "Good Morning America." "These restrictions do nothing for them. Or for kids whose parents may not know about secret additional Instagram accounts."
Jordan added that Meta has not clarified whether adult users can still send DM requests to teens, nor addressed algorithmic practices that could make youth accounts more visible to potential predators.
She also questioned the practical reach of the updates on Facebook and Messenger, saying, "This energy could have been directed more toward additional Instagram protection, an app that’s far more popular with young people.”
In an email to "GMA" Meta said that it has “significantly changed content controls so that teens are recommended less potentially sensitive content” and that it continues to evolve how teen profiles are presented and surfaced to other users.
Meta also stated that “adults cannot send DM requests to teens who don’t follow them,” and reiterated this has been a key element of its existing safety policies.
In terms of its reach with young people across all platforms, Meta noted that “millions of teens use Facebook and Messenger, especially in regions where data access is more limited.” The company also emphasized that the current announcement includes “new, additional Instagram protections,” not just a cross-platform expansion.
This story has been updated with additional information from Meta.
