Meta is starting to move more teens on Facebook and Messenger into dedicated "teen accounts" that have added parental controls and other protections for younger users. The expansion comes as the company says that "hundreds of millions" of teens are already using the accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.
Meta first brought teen accounts to Instagram a year ago and began rolling them out to teens in the US, Canada, UK and Australia on Facebook and Messenger earlier this year. Now, the specialized accounts will be available to teens globally. The company has made the accounts mandatory for all teens, and requires younger teens (13 -15-year-olds) to get their parent’s permission to change safety-related settings. Meta uses AI to detect teens that may be lying about their age. The accounts allow parents to supervise how their children use Meta's apps, including features for monitoring screen time and the ability to view who their kids are messaging with. Teen accounts also come with more restrictive privacy and safety settings meant to limit their contact with adults they don't know.
Instagram is also expanding its program that allows US middle schools and high schools to expedite reports of bullying and other problematic behavior. Up to now, the company has been piloting the "school partnership program," with a handful of middle schools and high schools. Meta says that it's "heard positive feedback from participating schools" and that any US-based school can sign up to join.
The social media company has spent the last few years ramping up parental control features and attempting to close some of the more obvious gaps in its safety features. The company is currently facing numerous lawsuits and investigations into its track record on child safety.
Update, September 25, 2025, 9:03 AM ET: Clarified the age range for teen accounts.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-rolls-out-teen-accounts-for-facebook-and-messenger-across-the-world-120000352.html?src=rss
