Meta is offering teenagers a strengthened version of its Instagram Limits tool. When set to its highest level, only Close Friends will be able to comment, reply, tag, mention, or message them.
It’s the latest development in the company’s protections for teens, after anti-grooming blocks and nudity blurring introduced earlier in the year …
Instagram Limits
Instagram’s Limits tool was first tested back in 2021, after three British footballers were harassed on the platform following the team’s loss in the Euro 2020 soccer finals.
It was subsequently rolled out to everyone, with options to limit interactions to people you follow, as well as your own longer-term followers.
New Close Friends options for teens
TechCrunch reports that teenagers are now being offered additional options for further limiting interactions.
The feature has now been tuned for teens with the “Close Friends” setting by default, and Instagram says it is specifically meant to protect people from bullying and harassment. Accounts that aren’t part of a person’s “Close Friends” group can still interact with them, but their activity won’t show up in the feed.
Alternatively, teens can limit interactions with recent followers — accounts that started following them in the past week or accounts that they don’t follow.
In addition, the company is adding new functionality to its “Restrict” feature that lets you limit interactions from specific accounts without blocking them. Instagram will hide all comments from restricted accounts, and they won’t be able to tag or mention you.
Latest move to address mental health concerns
The company has been facing growing concern over the impact of Instagram on the mental health of teenage users, with particular concerns about online bullying.
Meta has introduced a number of protective features specifically geared to teens, two of them introduced earlier this year.
In January, Meta started blocking DMs to teenagers from adults they don’t follow. Parents and guardians also got more powerful parental controls at the same time.
Last month, Meta began blurring nude photos in Instagram DMs – a move aimed at addressing the growing problem of ‘sextortion’ on the platform.
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