Instagram Extends Teen Accounts Safety Feature To India

SUMMARY

Instagram has expanded its Teen Accounts feature to India with enhanced safety controls, after its earlier launch in markets including the US and UK

Teen users under 16 will have accounts set to highest safety settings by default, with features including private accounts, restricted messaging and anti-bullying tools

Parents get supervision tools to monitor conversations, set time limits and restrict platform access, though they cannot view actual message content

Meta-owned Instagram has now expanded its Teen Accounts safety feature to India, months after rolling it out in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Teen Accounts aim to safeguard teenagers from harmful content, limit interactions with strangers and set a ceiling on the amount of time spent on the app.

For Instagram users under the age of 16, Teen Accounts will automatically be set to the highest safety settings and any changes to these accounts to make them less restrictive will require parental approval.

Meta expanded the feature to India to mark the occasion of Safer Internet Day and it will be rolled out in a phased manner across the country.

“With the expansion of Instagram Teen Accounts to India, we are strengthening protections, enhancing content controls, and empowering parents, while ensuring a safer experience for teens,” said Natasha Jog, director, public policy India, Instagram.

The new feature will now help Instagram users under 16 to set their private accounts as default, while messages will be restricted only to followers.

Instagram has also implemented strict content controls to limit exposure to sensitive content. The platform has enabled anti-bullying features by default, including Hidden Words to filter offensive language.

Additionally, teens will receive notifications after 60 minutes of daily usage, and a sleep mode will automatically activate between 10 PM and 7 AM, muting notifications and sending automatic replies to DMs overnight.

Now parents can also access enhanced supervision features including monitoring their teen’s recent conversations from the past seven days, setting daily time limits, and restricting platform access during specific hours. However, parents cannot read the actual message content.

“Teen safety online is a growing concern for parents, and Instagram’s new Teen Accounts feature is a step in the right direction,” Mansi Zaveri, founder and CEO of Kidsstoppress.com, said.

The platform will require additional verification steps when someone attempts to create an account with an adult birthdate.