Meta Introduces Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger; What’s Changing?

Meta has announced the expansion of its “Teen Accounts” feature to Facebook and Messenger, rolling out first in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, with plans to extend to additional regions in the near future. The move is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance online safety for young users and limit their exposure to harmful content and unwanted interactions.

Teen Accounts, which were first introduced on Instagram in September 2023, are designed to create an age-appropriate online experience for users under 18. The feature automatically places teens into more restricted settings upon account creation, with additional controls requiring parental approval for users aged 13 to 15. Meta says over 54 million teens globally have already been transitioned into teen accounts, with 97% of users aged 13–15 maintaining the built-in protections.

With the latest rollout, teens on Facebook and Messenger will be automatically enrolled into an environment that restricts interactions with strangers. For instance, only people they follow or have previously messaged can contact them, while story replies, tags, mentions, and comments are limited to friends.

Furthermore, teenagers will receive screen time reminders after one hour of usage and will be enrolled into “Quiet Mode” during nighttime hours. Parental consent will now be required for users under 16 who wish to go live or disable content protection features that blur potentially explicit images in direct messages.

Meta’s recent update has garnered both favorable and unfavorable reactions. The most recent development is considered a positive advancement by experts; however, there is a significant amount of skepticism regarding its practical implications.

Critics have also pointed out that teens can easily bypass restrictions by providing false age information. A UK media regulator report from Ofcom revealed that 22% of users aged 8 to 17 misrepresent their age as 18 or older on social media. In response, Meta has stated that it will employ AI-based systems in 2024 to identify users who may be lying about their age and shift them back into teen accounts.

The company stated that Teen Accounts expansion operates as part of its extensive concentration on user mental health protection and building security measures for online platforms. The data gathered from an Ipsos study commissioned by Meta revealed that 94% of parents found Teen Accounts useful, while 85% affirmed they helped parents lead their children through online activity.

As Meta continues the global rollout, under-18 users will begin receiving in-app notifications informing them of the shift to Teen Accounts and the changes that come with it.