Is Instagram safe?

Like most social media platforms, Instagram requires users to be 13 or older to use the platform. Additionally, those aged 13-16 benefit from safety-by-design features. For example, when a child in this age range joins Instagram, they automatically have a private account.

Letting your child use the platform before they are old enough leaves them open to the risk of harm. This is because they will need to lie about their age, potentially using their parents instead. As such, they do not benefit from those default settings.

Instagram lets users connect with others, find communities with similar interests and explore creative ways to express themselves. However, not all content is appropriate for every user. Like any social media platform, there are risks to consider.

Communication with strangers

When someone posts a picture or video on their public profile, anyone can interact with it. Your child can comment on content or respond to others’ comments, even if they don’t know the person offline.

In most cases, these interactions are harmless. However, some strangers might seek to harm, so it’s important to limit this risk.

Ensure your child has a private profile and customise their communication settings to stay safe.

Inappropriate or unwanted content

Instagram’s algorithm ‘learns’ from the actions its users take as well as their demographics. This helps to suggest new content a user might like. For example, if someone watches and likes a lot of cat videos, they will receive suggestions for more cat videos.

However, this can sometimes lead to content they don’t want to see. Sometimes, influencers will grow their followers based on one type of content but then share a different type of content. For example, a lot of followers of Andrew Tate say they enjoy his fitness and finance content. However, he also shares a lot of misogynistic content. So, those looking for fitness content might accidentally get caught up in the misogynistic content as well.

You can help your child customise their feed to limit unwanted content. Adding hidden words is just one way to do this.

Spending too much time scrolling

Instagram uses what’s called persuasive design. This is where a platform uses techniques to keep users engaged on the platform. One of the biggest elements of this for Instagram is the endless scrolling feature.

Because users can keep scrolling to reveal new content, users can accidentally spend hours engaging with content. So, if your teen uses Instagram, make sure you set up screen time limits so they receive regular reminders to take breaks.

To help make Instagram safer for under-18s, Meta provides various options for parents and young people.

What are Teen accounts, and how do they keep children safe?

Instagram has introduced ‘teen accounts’ which automatically turn on all privacy features for accounts where the owner is 13-17 years of age. These features include:

• Making the account private
• Only being able to message accounts they follow
• Sensitive content restrictions
• Filtering out offensive language
• Time limit reminders to prevent excessive screen time

Teens 16 and older will be able to switch these settings off themselves, but teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of the built-in protections to be less strict.

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Learn how to manage your child’s teen account in our parental controls guide.

Instagram Family Centre

Family Centre is a tool available for parents within Instagram’s settings. It lets parents supervise their teen’s account to help them:

• balance their screen time;
• manage who they communicate with;
• customise their profile settings for safety.

While you cannot oversee everything they do, these supervision tools serve as a great way to start conversations.

General safety settings

Instagram offers a range of safety settings available to all users. These include:

• Private profiles;
• Close Friends groups;
• Restricted, muted and blocked accounts;
• Hidden words;
• Limited notifications.

There are others on top of these settings, which we recommend reviewing with your teen to keep them safe.