Meta Introduces New Parental Control Capabilities for Instagram and Messenger

Meta recently introduced a suite of new parental control tools across the Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger platforms. These tools are aimed at monitoring and regulating teen activities, enhancing privacy settings, and promoting healthy digital behavior. Among the features are a parental supervision hub in Messenger, mechanisms for blocking unwanted direct messages (DMs) on both Messenger and Instagram, and prompts to remind adolescents to take breaks from the apps.

The first rollout of these parental control tools will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada via Meta’s Family Center. Accessed through the Messenger supervision controls, the tools will empower guardians to view their teenager's privacy and safety settings, observe changes in their Messenger contact list, as well as monitor time spent on the app. Additionally, should a teen report another user, guardians will receive notifications, provided the teen explicitly allows such alerts.

Guardians can examine their teen's Messenger settings, including message restrictions, categorized by friends, friends of friends, or blocked users. They will also be notified of any changes their child makes to these settings. Guardian oversight can extend to story visibility, enabling parents to ensure their child's content is appropriately shared.

Over recent years, Instagram has taken several actions to limit interactions between young users and unknown adults. The latest development involves requiring unconnected users to send invitation requests for permission to initiate interaction. Furthermore, these inviting requests can only be text-based, and users are limited to sending one at a time.

Meta is implementing a new feature for Instagram that informs teenagers of the option to have their accounts supervised by their guardian. This level of protection extends to parents having access to view mutual connections between their teen and other accounts they follow or are followed by.

Control over ad targeting for young users on Instagram and Facebook was established earlier this year. Meta showed further support for protecting minors in February, endorsing a tool designed to prevent the online sharing of intimate images without consent. However, the company has not ceased serving advertisements to its younger user base, leading to more than $400 million in fines for violating GDPR rules regarding children's privacy.

Incorporating these new parental control tools demonstrates Meta's commitment to safeguarding its younger users' experiences on its platforms. By providing guardians with increased oversight and encouraging responsible usage, Meta aspires to cultivate a safer and healthier digital environment for teens.