Meta is rolling out new safety features for private messaging for teen Instagram accounts so teens can have more context about the accounts they’re interacting with. The company is also adding new features for adult-managed child accounts.
Teen Instagram account owners will get new options to view safety tips and block other accounts, which will appear at the top of new chats, along with the month and year the account was registered.
Meta is also launching a new option to block and report accounts directly in Instagram private messages. The company has always encouraged users to block and report accounts that violate its rules, and now it's making the process easier by combining the two actions into a single button.
Additionally, Meta is moving some of its protection features from teen accounts to adult-managed accounts that primarily feature children. These include adult accounts that frequently post photos and videos of their children, and accounts representing teens or children under 13 that are managed by adults.
Even accounts run by adults have people posting sexualized comments, writing lewd messages, or otherwise violating the rules. To combat this, Meta is expanding some of its protections for teen accounts, such as automatically setting the strictest message settings, as well as a "Hidden Words" feature that filters out offensive comments.
Such accounts will receive notifications about security updates and a suggestion to review their account privacy settings in the coming months. Such accounts will also be less likely to appear in searches and recommendations for suspicious users, who are often blocked by other teens.