Kids under 16 will no longer be allowed to go Live on Instagram—an update intended to protect and support young users.
Last year, Meta introduced Instagram Teen Accounts to help protect teens from unwanted/unsafe communication and harmful, inappropriate content. Teenage Instagram users were automatically placed into private accounts, and parental permission was required to change the settings of those under 16.
Meta Prohibits Kids Under 16 From Live Streaming on Instagram
Due to the progress of and satisfaction with these updates, Meta has decided to implement even more protections, as well as expand Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. One of these changes includes disallowing users under the age of 16 from live streaming on Instagram.
“We know parents are worried about strangers contacting their teens—or teens receiving unwanted contact,” Meta stated in a recent press release. “In addition to the existing built-in protections offered by Teen Accounts, we’re adding new restrictions for Instagram Live and unwanted images in DMs.”
“With these changes, teens under 16 will be prohibited from going Live unless their parents give them permission to do so,” Meta continued. “We’ll also require teens under 16 to get parental permission to turn off our feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in DMs.”
These updates will become available in the upcoming months and aim to keep young Instagram users safe from malicious and ill-intentioned individuals and content.
“We want to make it easier for parents to have peace of mind when it comes to their teens’ experiences across Meta’s apps, so today, we’ll begin making Teen Accounts available on Facebook and Messenger,” Meta announced. “Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger will offer similar, automatic protections to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact, as well as ways to ensure teens’ time is well spent.”
Meta added that it will be rolling out Facebook and Messenger Teen Accounts for teenagers in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
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