SINGAPORE: Instagram has started rolling out Teen Accounts in Singapore, its parent company Meta said on Tuesday (Jan 21).
The feature comes with built-in protections that will limit who can contact the teens and the content they see on the app.
These accounts on the Meta-owned app will also be private by default and teenagers can only be tagged by people they follow. Offensive words and phrases will be filtered out, said Meta.
Teens will also get notifications telling them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day.
There are also additional parental supervision tools that allow parents to see who their teen is messaging, said Meta in a press release.
“With parental supervision on, parents can also decide when and for how long their teens can use Instagram,” it added.
In addition, there is also a new Sleep Mode feature which mutes notifications at night. This will be turned on between 10pm and 7am each day.
Teenagers in Singapore over 13 and under 18 years old will be automatically placed into the Teen Accounts over the next few months, said Meta, adding that those under 16 can only change these settings with a parent’s permission.
“We know parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences,” said Tara Hopkins, global director of public policy for Instagram and Threads.
“Teen Accounts have been designed to better support parents, and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place.”
Meta first announced Instagram Teen Accounts in September 2024.
