If you’re a parent or guardian worried about what your teen sees on Instagram, there’s some reassuring news. The social media giant is introducing new protections that will make the experience feel more like watching a PG-13 movie than scrolling through the wild west of the internet.
From today, Instagram will begin rolling out changes to Teen Accounts in Australia, the US, UK and Canada, with full rollout expected by the end of the year. These updates will automatically limit what young users can see, while giving parents a bigger say in shaping their teen’s online experience.
The biggest change is that Instagram Teen Accounts will now be guided by PG-13 movie ratings by default. That means the videos, posts and recommendations your teen sees will be more in line with what’s considered suitable for a 13-year-old in a cinema. Teens under 18 will automatically be placed in this “13+” setting, and they won’t be able to turn it off without a parent’s permission.
Recognising that every family has different comfort levels, Instagram is also adding a new, stricter “Limited Content” setting for parents who want tighter controls. This option filters out even more mature content and removes the ability for teens to see or leave comments. Starting next year, it will also further limit AI conversations for extra protection.
Tara Hopkins, Global Director of Public Policy for Instagram, said the new Instagram PG-13 style changes are about balance. “We want teens to have positive, age-appropriate experiences online, while giving parents the confidence that we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe,” she said.
This update marks the most significant change to Teen Accounts since Instagram introduced them last year. It builds on the automatic protections already in place for hundreds of millions of young users worldwide. The company says it’s also using new age-prediction technology to help identify teens who may try to get around these restrictions by entering a false age.
To help shape the new rules, Meta worked directly with thousands of parents around the world. More than three million content ratings were submitted by parents who reviewed real Instagram posts and gave feedback on whether they felt appropriate for teens. Their responses helped refine the guidelines – and early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In a survey by Ipsos, 95% of US parents said they think the changes will be helpful, and 90% said they’ll make it easier to understand what their teen is likely to see.
So, what does this mean in practice? Teens will see less content that includes strong language, risky stunts or themes that could encourage harmful behaviours, such as posts showing marijuana use. Instagram will also continue to block sexually suggestive material and content promoting adult products like alcohol or tobacco.
The changes extend across the entire platform. Teens won’t be able to follow or message accounts that regularly share adult or inappropriate content, and those accounts won’t be able to contact teens either. Sensitive search terms like “self-harm,” “suicide,” “alcohol,” or “gore” will also be blocked – even when misspelled.
Instagram’s AI experiences will follow the same PG-13 guidance, meaning chatbots and in-app assistants will avoid giving responses that would feel inappropriate for a younger audience.
For parents who like to stay involved, Instagram is making it easier to share feedback and report concerns. Soon, parents will be able to flag content they think shouldn’t be visible to teens directly through the supervision tools. Those flagged posts will be reviewed by Instagram’s safety teams, and parents will be notified of the outcome. The company also plans to run ongoing surveys where parents can review sample posts and share whether they think they’re appropriate for teens.
Hopkins admits no system is perfect, but says the goal is to make inappropriate moments “rare” and to keep improving over time. “Just like in a PG-13 movie, a few mature themes might still appear – but we’re working hard to make those instances as limited as possible,” she said.
For many parents, this update is likely to come as a relief. Social media can be an important way for teens to connect, but it can also be overwhelming to monitor. These new changes aim to take some of that pressure off parents by making safe, age-appropriate content the default. Not the exception.
The updated Instagram PG-13 settings will continue rolling out through the end of 2024, with plans to expand globally next year. Meta also says it will introduce similar protections on Facebook in the future, creating a safer experience for teens across its platforms.
So next time your teen scrolls through Instagram, you can feel a little more confident knowing their feed is now guided by the same standard you’d expect at the movies. Just with a lot more cat videos.