Meta announces overhaul of teen experience on platform, blocking age-inappropriate accounts and expanding search term restrictions after withering year of criticism
Instagram has announced a major overhaul of how teenagers experience the platform, introducing content restrictions modelled on PG-13 film ratings after sustained criticism over child safety concerns.
The Meta-owned social media application said on Tuesday it would automatically place all users under 18 into updated content settings designed to mirror what young people might encounter in a PG-13 movie, with restrictions on sexualised material, drug-related content and other adult themes.
The changes represent Instagram’s most significant update to teen accounts since their introduction last year, coming after a difficult twelve months that saw the company face intense scrutiny from regulators, child safety advocates and parents over its handling of youth wellbeing on the platform.
Age-Gating and Account Restrictions
One new restriction Instagram will adopt is age-gating. If an account regularly shares content that is age-inappropriate, such as material related to alcohol or links to pornographic websites, the company said it will block all teen accounts from being able to see or chat with that account.
The age-gating could apply even to celebrities or other widely followed adult accounts, Instagram confirmed. However, the company did not specify precisely where it would draw the line for adult accounts that do not wish to be age-gated. A company representative stated that sharing one piece of age-inappropriate content would not be enough for an adult-run account to lose access to the teen audience.
Accounts with names or biographies containing links to adult-themed websites or liquor stores will be hidden from teens. Teen Instagram users will no longer be able to follow those kinds of accounts, and if they already do, they will be unable to see or interact with the more adult-leaning content that they share.
Expanded Search Term Blocking
Instagram will also block teens’ search results for a wider range of adult search terms, going beyond its current list of restricted terms. The company said it already blocks certain search terms related to sensitive topics such as suicide and eating disorders, but the latest update will expand this to a broader range of terms, such as alcohol or gore, even if they are misspelled.
Meta executives said during a media briefing that whilst the company’s previous content guidelines were already in line with or exceeded PG-13 standards, some parents said they were confused about what kinds of content teens could view on Instagram.
To provide clarity, Meta decided to more closely standardise its teen-content policies with movie ratings that parents could better understand.
Content Filtering and AI Restrictions
For teen accounts, Instagram will hide or not recommend posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, sexually suggestive poses or marijuana paraphernalia. The company said artificial intelligence experiences for teens would be guided by PG-13 ratings by default, with limits on the types of responses given.
Meta stated that AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie. The update follows recent scandals where AI assistants were reported to have engaged in harmful conversations with minors.
The restrictions will apply across Reels, Explore, Feed, Stories and direct messages, ensuring unsafe content does not appear even from followed accounts. The same content restrictions will apply until account holders become adults, providing the same experience to 17-year-olds as to 13-year-olds.
New ‘Limited Content’ Mode for Parents
Beyond the new default settings, Meta is introducing an even stricter option called Limited Content, which parents can enable for their children’s accounts. This optional mode will filter even more content from the teen account experience.
Crucially, the Limited Content setting also completely removes a teen’s ability to see, leave or receive comments on any posts. Starting next year, this setting will also further restrict the AI conversations teens can have.
According to a recent Ipsos survey commissioned by Meta, 96% of US parents said they appreciated having this option, whether they choose to opt their teen in or not. The survey also found 95% of US parents believe the PG-13 settings will make Instagram safer for teens.
Changes Apply Only to Teen-Specific Accounts
The changes apply only to teen-specific accounts, which are accounts that teens have created using their truthful birth dates or accounts that Instagram has determined through its own investigation are likely to be those of people under 18 years old.
It is common for teens to lie about their ages online to avoid certain restrictions. A 2024 survey of UK teens by the media regulator Ofcom found that 22% of 17-year-olds said they lied on social media that they were 18 or older.
A representative for Instagram said it tries to catch teens who lie about their ages but declined to say how often it finds them doing so. Meta says it uses artificial intelligence to estimate the ages of users, regardless of the birthdate they sign up with, in an effort to identify teens who might be intentionally skirting the protections.
Age Verification Remains Contentious Issue
Instagram does not verify self-reported ages at sign-up in the United States. Meta is a member of two trade associations, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, that have sued to block state laws requiring age verification.
In June, the trade groups won injunctions against state-mandated age checks in Florida and Georgia. Instagram allows children as young as 13 years old to create accounts.
Last year, the platform introduced teen-specific accounts, saying all minors would be routed into such accounts automatically with limits on messaging and tagging. Instagram says teens have created millions of teen-specific accounts, although it has declined to say how many of those accounts remain active after they are created.
Response to Sustained Criticism
Instagram is rolling out the overhaul after a withering year in the public spotlight. In August, Reuters reported that an internal Meta document permitted children to engage in romantic or sensual AI chats, including on an Instagram chatbot.
In September, two former employees of Meta testified before Congress that the company blocked their research into teen safety in virtual reality and avoided adopting certain safety measures if those measures would mean fewer teens use the company’s apps, including Instagram and Facebook.
One of the former employees, Jason Sattizahn, stated in an interview that children drive profits. He claimed that if Meta invests more in safety to get kids off their platforms, engagement goes down, monetisation goes down, and ad revenue goes down, adding they need them.
Meta at the time criticised the testimony, saying the claims were nonsense and were based on selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative. The company said it had no blanket prohibition on conducting research with young people.
Child Safety Groups Remain Sceptical
A report last month from several child safety groups, including Fairplay, criticised Instagram’s teen account features as failing to deliver substantial safety benefits. The report also urged that recommendations made to a 13-year-old Teen Account should be reasonably PG rated.
Meta said that the report was misleading and that it misrepresented the company’s efforts. Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer has been particularly vocal, previously declaring that Meta AI is a danger to teens and should be taken down immediately after incidents where the AI reportedly could help teens plan self-harm.
Meta’s director of public policy, Liz Arcamona, pushed back, stating that by and large, many of their policies were already generally in line with or actually went further than a PG-13 standard, adding that where they go further today, they will continue to do so going forward.
Regulatory Pressure Mounting
The changes come as Instagram faces mounting pressure from regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In May 2024, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into Meta’s child safety practices under the Digital Services Act.
The probe is examining if platform designs contribute to behavioural addictions and if age verification tools are effective. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission launched its own inquiry in September 2025, targeting Meta and other tech giants over the safety of AI companion chatbots for teens.
Some parents have complained for years that Instagram, TikTok and other social media apps do not do enough to protect teens’ wellbeing. Last year, during a Senate hearing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to parents in the gallery who said Instagram contributed to their children’s deaths or exploitation.
Global Rollout Timeline
The PG-13 content default is initially being implemented in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, with full rollout in these countries expected by the end of 2025. Meta plans a global expansion in 2026 to include all regions and address situations where teens register as adults.
Similar age-based protections will be introduced to Facebook in the coming months. The company stated these updates reflect their ongoing commitment to helping teens have safer experiences online.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
