What's Your Kid Doing on Instagram? Request Access to Supervise Them
Six months after Instagram Head Adam Mosseri took some heat from Congress over reports that the app doesn't adequately protect teen users, Meta has rolled out new parental-supervision tools for Instagram and Quest VR headsets.
The Instagram updates expand on the Family Center hub it launched in March. They allow parents of young Instagram users to request access to tools that'll let them supervise their accounts. Previously, only kids could send invites to their parents. With that access, parents can set specific screen-time limits and get notifications when their child reports an account or post.
Similar controls can be applied for kids with a Quest VR headset, including the ability to block specific apps parents deem inappropriate, receive purchase notifications, and view their kids' screen time and friends list. Here, the teenager must initiate the process, and both parent and child have to agree, Meta says.
A new education hub(Opens in a new window), meanwhile, features a guide to VR parental supervision tools, as well as articles with tips for talking to teens about connecting safely with others and being more self-aware online.
Some of the responsibility, meanwhile, is on young people themselves: Teens in certain countries will start receiving notifications encouraging them to switch to a different topic if they're repeatedly looking at the same type of content on Explore. The nudge, according to Meta, is designed to encourage people to discover something new. Teenagers will also soon see Take a Break reminders from Reels creators, who share their tips for stepping away from social media.
"We're also empowering US-based young creators through funding and education to share more content on Instagram that inspires
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