Young teens will soon have a markedly different experience on Instagram, including blocked overnight access and strict daily time limits, due to a massive $17.1 billion lawsuit settlement.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced the settlement on Aug. 26 between Meta, Instagram's parent company, and around 50 U.S. states and territories. Tennessee was among the states that sued and will get more than $750 million from the settlement. The closely watched trial was held in Nashville and lasted for just over a month. Prosecutors centered their case on arguments that Meta failed to protect its youngest users from becoming addicted to Instagram.
So, how exactly is Instagram going to be different for youth? Here's what we know.
Changes for teen Instagram users to include time limit, nightly curfew
First,
a few housekeeping notes: Instagram requires users to be 13 years or older, so the changes will only apply to those age 13-17. It's not yet clear when the changes will take effect, as the final terms of the settlement are waiting final judicial approval, according to an Aug. 26 news release from Meta.
Here's a look at what is new for users ages 13-17:
- A daily two-hour cumulative time limit across Facebook and Instagram, which are both owned by Meta. Teens can only turn the limit off with a parent's permission.
- A default "night mode" that blocks access from midnight to 6 a.m.
- A "school mode" that mutes notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., save for direct messages and alerts about account security
- Prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time on Facebook or Instagram, as well as after total daily usage hits 60 and 90 minutes
- A default non-algorithmic feed that is not controlled or personalized by Meta's recommendation system. Parents can also put this as a required setting
- The ability to turn off autoplay on content. Parents can also make this a required setting
- Hidden like and reaction counts on their posts and others' posts as a default setting
- Blocked extreme makeup filters, which adds to Meta's existing block on cosmetic surgery filters for teens.
Meta noted that direct messages are excluded from time limits, night mode and school mode to "allow teens to stay connected with friends and family."
Along with new restrictions, Meta will also strengthen existing protections around age-appropriate content, unwanted contact from strangers, harmful content and other measures. Here's what the press release detailed:
- Meta will roll out stronger detection and enforcement methods to keep children under the age of 13 from creating accounts. It will also strengthen technology to ensure users ages 13-17 experience content designed for teens.
- Meta will continue its content standards that make it the default for teens to be shown age-appropriate content, along with preventing teens from following or interacting with accounts Meta deems "age inappropriate."
- Meta will continue to make teen Instagram and Facebook accounts private by default to avoid unwanted contact from strangers, along with continuing to restrict "potentially suspicious adults" from contacting them. Meta will also strengthen its efforts to make it more difficult for those adults to find, follow and interact with teen users.
- Meta will continue to provide reporting options for concerning content. The parent company will "work to improve" response times and regularly evaluate how often teens are exposed to harmful content.
- Parental controls will still be in place, and Meta said it will give parents "new controls and insights" like notifications when a teen links a secondary account, alerts when their teen interacts with "potentially suspicious accounts," and any attempts the teen makes to adjust protective settings.
Why is Instagram changing for young teenagers?
The lawsuit settlement comes with legal requirements for Meta to make changes to better protect its youngest users.
During the trial, Meta faced accusations that Instagram is addictive and harmful for young teens and that the company knowingly lied about the risks its young teen users faced. A total of 52 U.S. states and territories, including Tennessee, later joined forces in what's known as multi-state litigation. The $17.1 billion settlement is the largest single company settlement in multi-state litigation, according to Skrmetti.
Meta has denied purposefully making products that are addictive or harmful to teens.
Will TikTok and other apps change for teens too?
While scrutiny continues over how social media affects youth, it's not clear if any other social media companies beyond Meta will make similar changes. In its Aug. 26 release, Meta encouraged platforms like TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same standards to ensure teens use social media in "a healthy and responsible way."
"While this is an important step, the fact is that teens move fluidly between dozens of apps a day," the Meta press release said in reference to the settlement. "All platforms should empower parents and support teens by putting the same measures in place, because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another."
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@tennessean.com.
Rachel Wegner covers education and children's issues for The Tennessean. Got a story you think she should hear? Reach her via email at RAwegner@tennessean.com. You can also find her on X or Bluesky under the handle RachelAnnWegner.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Big changes are coming for Instagram's teen users. Here's what to know
