As per Meta’s recent announcement, the company is enabling more private settings by default for teenage accounts to protect their privacy on Facebook and Instagram.
Starting from November 21, 2022, the teenage account (16 years or below) will, by default, get access to these updated private settings when joining Facebook.
Those who already have their Facebook accounts (below 18 years) will get a notification prompting them to use these private settings for an age-appropriate and safe experience. As the users click on the notification, they will be redirected to suggested settings that can be enabled through a single tap on a toggle. Also, they will get safety notifications prompting them to report or block suspicious accounts if they feel uncomfortable.
To restrict the ability of suspicious adults to message & harass teens, the company implemented some preventive measures last year. For example, Adults who were not connected to teens on their accounts were restricted from messaging them or seeing them in their “People You May Know” recommendations.
Now, under these updated private settings, Facebook won’t allow suspicious adults’ requests in teens’ “People You May Know” section.
As an additional protection, the company is testing disabling messaging buttons on teens’ Instagram accounts when viewed by a suspicious adult account. A suspicious adult account is one that has been reported or blocked recently by a teen.
- People who can see their posts, followers or friend list, pages and the posts they are tagged in.
- Who all they want to allow to comment on their public posts
- Which posts should appear on their profile through a review option.
Through the restrictive sensitive content control settings, Instagram has enabled all these similar features for teenage accounts (below 16 years).
Further, Meta is collaborating with NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) to create an international platform for teens to prevent sextortion and intimate image sharing without their consent. The platform will prevent teens’ intimate photos from being posted online or used by other companies across the tech industry.
Also read: Meta’s Instagram Explore Home Ads Placement is Here with New Marketing API
To further educate teens about their privacy and lower the social stigma associated with intimate images, the company is collaborating with the NoFiltr brand of the Thorn organization. Through this collaboration, plenty of educational material will be created for teens to empower and help them regain control if experiencing sextortion.
