Instagram rolls out privacy features for users under 16

Instagram has introduced new safety settings for teenagers. New accounts are now private by default for kids under 16 years old. Blocking some adults from interacting with teens on its platform and restricting how advertisers can target teenagers.

Instagram has said that it wants to find the right balance of kids finding things they love about Instagram but at the same time keeping them safe. Starting this week, everyone under 16 years old (or under 18 in certain countries) will default to a private account as they join Instagram. This allows fewer people to see and respond to your content. You can choose to allow others to re-share your content, and commenting on posts is limited.

For people under 16 who already have a public account on Instagram, the company will show them a notification highlighting the benefits of having a private account. In addition, it will explain how to change their privacy settings. The option to switch to a public account will still exist.

The company is also making it hard for certain adults to contact kids under this age bracket. Instagram has said that they have developed a new technology that will allow them to find accounts that have shown potentially serious behavior and stop them from interacting with young people’s accounts. Potentially suspicious behavior is tagged by Instagram as accounts belonging to adults that may have been recently blocked or reported by a younger person.

This technology will hide accounts from these adults. Accounts won’t show up in Explore, Reels, or Accounts Suggested For You to these adults. Even by searching for a specific account, these tagged accounts won’t be able to follow these kids. Flagged accounts also won’t be able to comment as well as see comments from these kids’ accounts.

Instagram is also changing how ads work for young people. For people under 18, Instagram will only allow advertisers to target this market based on their age, gender, and location. Previously, targeting options based on interests and internet activity were options for advertisers.

Instagram will alert young people when they turn 18 about these targeting options and will provide the tools to control their ad experience as well. These changes will be global and will apply to Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

These changes are rolling out in the US, Australia, France, the UK, and Japan first and will expand to other countries soon.

Source: Instagram