Meta Announces Expanded Parental Supervision Tools and Teen Account Defaults

Meta has announced new default privacy settings for Instagram users under 18, automatically placing teen accounts into private mode with restrictions on who can message them and view their content. The changes, rolling out globally over the coming months, include requiring parental approval for teens aged 13-15 to modify these settings, limiting contact from accounts the teen does not follow, and deploying AI-based age estimation to identify users who misrepresent their age during signup. Meta states the measures are designed to address growing regulatory and parental concerns about child safety on social media, particularly grooming, sextortion, and exposure to harmful content in direct messages.

Default privacy settings reduce the surface area of exposure but do not evaluate the content of the conversations that occur within the permitted contact list, where grooming and sextortion frequently develop over time after initial trust is established. Detection technology that monitors direct-message exchanges for escalatory language, coercive tactics and sexual exploitation surfaces the specific conversation in which harm is occurring, enabling a parent to intervene or a platform to block the contact before abuse progresses. A world-leading AI safety platform operating across Instagram, Snapchat and other channels where young people communicate can alert the responsible adult in real time and enable rapid escalation to law enforcement or safeguarding authorities, addressing the threats that persist even inside a restricted account.