According to the latest reports, Facebook’s Instagram is introducing some changes to make this app safer for young people. From now on, any user under the age of 16 (under 18 in some countries) will set their account as a private account by default, but the option to switch to a public account is still available. Now, anyone who has a public account under these ages will receive a notification encouraging them to switch to a private account.
For some time, Instagram has always tended to let young people use private accounts = by default. In March of this year, it began to show a message explaining the benefits of having a private account to young people who signed up for Instagram. Now, it sets the private account as the default value.
Facebook is also changing the way advertisers target users under the age of 18. In the past, any user could locate based on their interests and activities; Facebook collected information from the entire network, not just its own attributes, to analyze personal web browsing history, application usage, and so on. Now, advertisers can only target users under the age of 18 based on their age, gender, and location. This applies to users of Instagram, Messenger and Facebook.
On Instagram, the company stated that it is also taking more measures to limit the interaction of problematic users with users under the age of 16. The company said it can identify potentially suspicious behavior from its account. For example, this means that the account may have been blocked or reported by young people recently.
In fact, these suspicious accounts will separate users under the age of 16: they will not display accounts under the age of 16 on Explore, Reels, or Accounts Suggested For You pages, nor will they see users under the age of 16 commenting on other people’s articles or reading from User reviews content under 16 years old.
Karina Newton, head of public policy at Instagram, told NBC News: We are trying to figure out whether an adult has exhibited suspicious behavior. Adults may not have violated the rules yet, but what they may be doing will give us a deeper look at them.
Instagram has previously used the ability to identify suspicious accounts to warn teenagers when they receive direct messages from these users. It also prohibits adults from sending messages to teenagers who are not following them.
While Facebook is working to make Instagram safer and more private for teenagers, it is also developing an app for children under 13 (currently the minimum age to sign up for Instagram). In March of this year, BuzzFeed News first reported on these plans and was widely criticized and complained.
Instagram’s Newton told NBC News that Instagram’s application for users under the age of 13 is still under development, and the company is in-depth consultations with child development experts and privacy advocates to meet the needs of families and teenagers.
We are looking for a way to attract teenagers and satisfy parents, Newton said.
