Instagram Follows TikTok and Boosts Teen Safety 

In February, TikTok added new privacy settings to make browsing the network more secure for teen users. On March 16, Instagram launched a similar update to keep it up with the trend. However, the app didn’t receive more default privacy settings for teenager accounts. Instead, the developers made it more difficult for adults to interact with younger users. Now adults can’t interact with teen users who didn’t follow them. You just can’t DM a teen user who doesn’t follow you. 

If a teenager already follows an adult, messaging is allowed, but the algorithm will identify any suspicious behavior and allow young users to block and report the user anytime. In addition, teen users will see a safety notice every time they interact with an adult. 

Another safety update makes it more difficult to find a user under 18 y.o. via the Explore, Reels, Suggested Users, and more. Reading the comments will be prohibited as well. Facebook also announced an algorithm that will identify user age by the images and see if a teenage user lied about their age in the account settings. What is your opinion about this safety update? Will it protect your children better when they are online? What safety features would you like to see on Instagram in the future? Share the news and let’s chat below!