Instagram Announces New Tools to 'Protect Young People' on the Platform

Instagram today announced several new tools and changes coming to the platform with the aim of "protecting young people." Amongst the changes will be the inability for adults to DM teenagers (users under 18 years old) who don't follow them.

Instagram Feature 2
Instagram says it has partnered with The Child Mind Institute and the non-profit group ConnectSafely to publish a new Parents Guide in the U.S. The new resource advises parents and teenagers on proper and safe usage of the platform. It will additionally roll out in partnership with experts in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore, joining existing guides for the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain and with plans to expand further in the future.

Instagram's terms and conditions require all users to be at least 13 years old to make an account, although some young users "can lie about their date of birth," circumventing the requirement. To battle it, Instagram does ask some new users for a form of age verification, and now, Instagram will use artificial intelligence to help "keep teens safer and apply new age-appropriate features."

One of the most prominent new "age-appropriate features" will be limited interaction between adults and teenagers who aren't following each other. As Instagram explains, if an adult tries to DM a teenager who doesn't follow them, they'll be shown a prompt saying, "You can't message this account unless they follow you." Additionally, Instagram will add new "Saftey Notices" for teenagers when messaging an adult they follow.

Safety notices in DMs will notify young people when an adult who has been exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior is interacting with them in DMs. For example, if an adult is sending a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18, we'll use it to alert the recipients within their DMs and give them an option to end the conversation, or block, report, or restrict the adult.

159691711 263905422002126 8801726488763806838 n
Other changes coming to Instagram will include the platform attempting to make it harder for adults to find teenagers to follow if they've been "exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior to interact with teens." Instagram also says it will encourage teenagers to make their accounts private, only allowing people they approve to see their photos and videos.

Top Rated Comments

MacBH928 Avatar
26 months ago
Just like smoking, privacy invasive apps should have legal age before you are permitted to use.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArPe Avatar
26 months ago

Really makes you wonder why this wasn’t a “feature” from the start. Ick.
imagine there is a feature that:

i adult stranger messages your kids
ii automatically the message is sent to the parents too
iii including the IP address of this MF
iv and an option to send John Wick to the house of this MF ??
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArPe Avatar
26 months ago
The only way to clean up that that crap is separate it from FB and give it new bosses who give a damn about the users. They allowed the worst things to happen on it. Not by accident. You can report real Nazis and real crimes on there and you get a message from the auto mod telling you to go F yourself.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonblatho Avatar
26 months ago

Amongst the changes will be the inability for adults to DM teenagers (users under 18 years old) who don't follow them.
Really makes you wonder why this wasn’t a “feature” from the start. Ick.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ComRadMac Avatar
26 months ago
So up to now, Instagram thought it was totally fine for random adults to directly message any child on the platform. Yup, can't see any problem with that. Good thinking, Instagram.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
26 months ago
they should protect users from Facebook ... never mind, its their owner :confused:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Mock Feature Buttonless

iPhone 15 Pro Max to 'Break Record' for Thinnest Bezels on a Smartphone

Friday March 17, 2023 2:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the thinnest bezels of any smartphone, beating the record currently held by the Xiaomi 13. That's according to the leaker known as "Ice Universe," who has divulged accurate information about Apple's plans in the past. Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, potentially resulting in an Apple...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Launching This Year With These 11 New Features

Monday March 13, 2023 6:47 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 lineup is around six months away, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes are expected for the iPhone 15 Pro models in particular, including a titanium frame and more. Below, we have recapped 11 features rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A17...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Predicted to See First Price Increase Since iPhone X

Wednesday March 15, 2023 7:49 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely be more expensive than previous Pro models, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities. In a research note this week, Pu predicted the iPhone 15 Pro models will see a price increase due to several rumored hardware upgrades, including a titanium frame,...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...