Instagram 'jails' teenagers, drastic change affecting millions of accounts

Meta has started putting Instagram users under the age of 18 into a new category called "teen account" to allow parents greater control over their activities, including the ability to block children from viewing the app at night.

In an announcement made a week after the Australian government proposed restricting children from access to such platforms, Meta announced it is opening accounts for teenagers on Instagram, which will apply to young users. The novelty will then extend to existing accounts held by teenagers over time.

Changes to teen account settings include giving parents the option to set daily time limits for using the app, blocking teens from using Instagram at certain times, viewing the accounts their child is messaging and viewing the categories of content they are viewing.

Teenagers who sign up to Instagram are already set by default to stricter privacy settings, which include banning adults from sending messages to teens who do not follow them and blocking them from receiving notifications at night.

However, under the new "teen account" feature, users under the age of 16 will now need parental permission to change settings, while ages 16-18 who have not yet logged into the new functions will be able to change them independently. After a 16-year-old tries to change his settings, parental supervision features will allow adults to set new time limits, block access at night and see who their child is exchanging messages with.

These changes will likely be in place for accounts in Britain, the US, and Europe.