Meta rolled out Instagram Teen Accounts last September, and now it’s taking things up a notch with a major update designed to make the platform safer and more age-appropriate for teenage users. Starting today, users under 18 in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada will experience Instagram content curated to feel more like a PG-13 movie — meaning content that’s suitable for teens around 13 and up.
What’s New for Instagram Teens?
Under this update, all teens will automatically be set to a 13+ content level, limiting exposure to anything mature or sensitive by default. And they won’t be able to switch this off without parental approval. The goal? To create an Instagram experience that reflects the kind of content teens might see in a PG-13 film—fun but mindful of their age.
For parents wanting even more control, Instagram is introducing a “Limited Content” mode. This option hides even more posts, disables commenting for teens, and starting next year, will reduce AI-driven interactions that don’t fit the PG-13 vibe.
Why PG-13?
Meta chose the PG-13 standard because it’s a familiar point of reference for most parents. While social media and movies are obviously different, this framework helps provide a clear, independent benchmark for the maturity level expected on Instagram for teens.
What Gets Filtered Out?
With this update, Instagram will hide posts with strong language, risky stunts, or anything that might encourage harmful behavior like drug use. This builds on their previous rules that already restrict sexually suggestive or violent content, as well as alcohol and tobacco promotions.
More Tools to Protect Teens
The update includes beefed-up age verification and detection technologies. Meta has improved its age prediction tech to catch teens trying to bypass restrictions by lying about their age.
Teen accounts also won’t be able to interact with or follow accounts that routinely share age-inappropriate content. These accounts won’t be able to message or comment on teen profiles either. Instagram’s search filters will block more mature terms — think alcohol references or gore — and even AI interactions will stick to PG-13 guidelines, avoiding anything too grown-up.
Built with Parents in Mind
Parent feedback was a huge part of shaping these changes. Meta gathered over 3 million ratings from thousands of parents worldwide, who assessed the age-appropriateness of real Instagram posts. Less than 2% of posts were deemed inappropriate by most parents, showing the new settings align well with family expectations.
Additionally, a recent Ipsos survey found that 95% of US parents think these new settings are helpful and 90% said they make it easier to understand what content their teens will see. To keep improving, Meta will run regular surveys in the app and test tools that let parents flag posts they want hidden from teens.
Rolling Out Now
The new teen content controls start rolling out today and aim to reach all eligible users in the initial launch countries by the end of the year. Meta plans to bring these protections to more countries soon along with stronger safety features for teens on Facebook.
This update shows Meta’s commitment to making Instagram a safer, more age-appropriate space for younger users — all with parents’ peace of mind in focus.
