Meta Works With Parents and New Tech to Expand Teen Account Protections on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger

Photo of parent and child looking at a phone together | Threadsaver.in Meta continues to put teen safety at the heart of its platform updates. After launching Instagram Teen Accounts last year—designed to give parents more peace of mind—Meta is now expanding protections to more teens through a mix of new tools, parent engagement, and advanced technology.

With over 54 million active Teen Accounts already in use worldwide, it’s clear this effort is gaining momentum. And now, Meta is taking additional steps to ensure even more teens benefit from these built-in protections.

What Are Teen Accounts, and Why Do They Matter?

Teen Accounts were introduced to help create a safer, more age-appropriate experience for young users. For teens under 16, these accounts:

Automatically apply privacy and content protections
Limit who can contact them
Restrict exposure to sensitive content
Require parental approval to make changes to key settings

Since their introduction, the response has been overwhelmingly positive—97% of teens aged 13–15 have kept the protections in place, and parents have shown strong support.

Parents Say It’s Working—But Want More Support

Meta has been listening to families. In fact, over 90% of parents surveyed said Teen Accounts help them support their teens on Instagram. But many still feel overwhelmed by the challenges of raising teens in a digital world.

To support them further, Meta is now:

Sending in-app notifications to parents on Instagram, encouraging them to talk with their teens about sharing accurate age info online
Sharing expert tips—like those from pediatric psychologist Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart—on how to have these important conversations
Helping parents review and confirm their teen’s age directly in-app

This initiative recognizes that parenting in a digital world is complex—and Meta wants to make that process easier, not harder.

Image showing in-app prompt for parents to review their child's age | Threadsaver.in

Using Technology to Help Where Parents Can’t

Understanding age online is tough. Parents are busy, and it’s not always realistic for them to monitor everything. That’s why Meta is testing new AI technology in the U.S. to help:

Identify accounts that likely belong to teens—even if they listed an adult birthdate
Automatically place them into Teen Account settings to activate privacy and safety features

Image showing in-app prompt to review updated safety settings | Threadsaver.in

If a mistake is made, users will be notified and given the ability to adjust their settings. But the goal is simple: put more teens in age-appropriate experiences, even when the system doesn’t get perfect information upfront.

Meta has been using AI to estimate age ranges for a while, but this is a new step toward proactively protecting teens. It’s not a replacement for parent involvement, but a helpful layer that works alongside families.

What This Means Going Forward

Meta’s long-term goal is to ensure every teen has a safer, more tailored experience on its platforms—including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Teen Accounts are expanding, and with a mix of tech tools and human conversations, more young users will get the protections they need—and parents will stay more involved than ever.

Takeaways

Meta is working to enroll more teens into Teen Account protections across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.
In-app notifications are now being sent to parents to encourage age verification conversations with their teens.
Meta is testing AI tools in the U.S. to identify suspected teen users and place them into Teen Account settings.
Parents remain a key part of the process, with expert guidance and flexible tools to support safe online experiences.