Meta announced on Thursday that its Teen Accounts are now being expanded to teens on Facebook and Messenger globally. This expansion follows an initial launch that was only available to users in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. These accounts feature built-in protections and parental controls for younger users. They first launched on Instagram last fall.
The creation of Teen Accounts occurred shortly after Meta and other popular social networks faced intense questioning from United States lawmakers. The lawmakers criticized the companies for not doing enough to protect teenagers on their services.
With the global expansion on Facebook and Messenger, teens will now automatically be placed into an experience designed to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact. For teens under the age of sixteen, parental permission is required to change any of the account settings.
Additionally, teens will only receive messages from people they follow or have messaged previously. Only a teen’s friends can see and reply to their stories. Tags, mentions, and comments will also be limited to people the teen follows or who are their friends.
Teens will also receive reminders to take a break after using the social networks for one hour each day. They will also be automatically enrolled in “Quiet mode” overnight.
This expansion comes as research led by a Meta whistleblower recently found that children and teens are still at risk from online harm on Instagram, even after the company rolled out these protections. The study found that despite being placed into Teen Accounts, young users could still encounter posts about suicide, self-harm, and demeaning sexual acts.
Meta has disputed these claims. The company stated that its protections have successfully led to teens seeing less harmful content.
In a separate announcement also made on Thursday, Meta officially launched its School Partnership Program. This program allows educators to report safety concerns, such as bullying, directly to Instagram for quicker review and content removal.
The company reported that it piloted the program earlier this year and received positive feedback from the participating schools. Now, all middle and high schools in the United States can sign up for the program to receive prioritized reporting and educational resources. Schools that join the program will have a banner displayed on their Instagram profile to notify parents and students that they are an official Instagram partner.
These announcements represent Meta’s latest step in addressing concerns about teen mental health linked to social media use. These concerns have been raised by the United States Surgeon General and by several states. Some states have even begun to restrict teens from using social media without a parent’s consent.