Meta introduces expanded 13+ content settings for teen accounts globally across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, ensuring age.
Meta has announced the expansion of its new 13+ content settings to Teen Accounts globally on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Initially launched in October last year in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, these settings are designed to help teens see age. According to Meta, 9 out of 10 teens have remained in this setting since its launch.
The new 13+ default setting on Facebook is aimed at hiding inappropriate content for teens in places like the Feed and Reels. It also limits teens' interactions with profiles, pages, groups, and events that primarily post such content. On Messenger, the 13+ setting restricts teens from viewing links to inappropriate Facebook content or chatting with accounts sharing such material.
Additionally, Meta is testing a Limited Content setting for Facebook and Messenger later this year, providing parents with an even more restrictive experience for their teen's account. This setting will further limit exposure to inappropriate content.
To ensure these new settings deliver the intended positive experiences, Meta collaborated with Alice (formerly ActiveFence), an online safety expert group, to perform adversarial stress-testing. The evaluation compared mature themes found on Instagram, a leading competitor, and in movies rated 13+. Results showed that Instagram Teen Accounts in the default 13+ setting saw 68% less mature content than the competitor’s teen experience. In stricter Limited Content settings, teens experienced an additional layer of protection, seeing 96% less mature content.
Where mature content was seen on Instagram, it was found to be less intense compared to the competitor and in movies rated 13+. Meta's systems also blocked mature search terms more frequently than its competitor. The company some functionalities, such as preventing interaction with age-inappropriate accounts, were already in place but updated detection signals to better catch exceptions.
Meta highlighted two areas for improvement identified by Alice’s assessment. They quickly addressed these issues and ensured the effectiveness of their policies before publication. For instance, they updated their policies to restrict "car surfing," a newly popular trend, which was not yet covered by existing teen content restrictions.
These updates reflect Meta's ongoing commitment to providing safe and age. The company continues to rigorously test and improve its systems to ensure the best possible outcomes for all users.
