Instagram brings Teen Accounts to India with parental controls: Here’s what you need to know

The new Instagram feature allows parents to see and control what their children do as well as set daily limits and reminders to stop using the app.

By: Tech Desk

New Delhi | Updated: February 13, 2025 08:13 AM IST

3 min read

Instagram's new feature gives parents control over what their children do and see on the platform. (Image Source: Meta)

Meta-owned social media platform Instagram has announced it will be rolling out “Teen Accounts” in India. Designed to create a more secure and age-appropriate online experience for those under 16, the company says the new feature is aimed at “strengthening protections, enhancing content controls, and empowering parents.”

In a blog post, Meta said Instagram Teen Accounts addresses key concerns like who their teens interact with online, keeping a tab on what type of content they consume and how much time they spend. These safeguards are automatically enabled by default and cannot be changed without parental consent.

In case you are wondering, Instagram Teen Accounts are set to private by default, meaning teens will have to manually approve followers. This rule also applies to those under 18.

Moreover, non-followers won’t be able to view or interact with those having a teen account, and only people they follow or are connected with will be able to send them messages. Meta also restricts exposure to sensitive content like physical fights or promotional material like cosmetic products.

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Instagram is rolling out the new feature in a phased manner. (Image Source: Meta)

In addition to these safeguards, teens on Instagram can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow and the platform will also filter out offensive language in comments as well as DMs. To prevent addiction, Instagram will show teens notifications to exit the app every hour and activate Sleep Mode from 10 PM to 7 AM, which also mutes notifications and sends replies to DMs.

Meta also announced that parents will soon be able to enable supervision for teens over 16 years. Some of the new supervision features include the ability to monitor recent conversations, setting daily time limits and blocking the app during specific hours.

Last year, the Australian government passed a law to ban social media access for children under 16. While there are no legal restrictions in India when it comes to protecting children online, the country’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act requires companies to collect “verifiable parental consent.” With Instagram now bringing Teen Accounts to India, it looks like Meta is gearing up to implement the new rules.

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