Meta settlement sparks social media changes for teens: What parents need to know
Instagram and Facebook are getting a series of new restrictions for teen users, including a two-hour daily time limit, overnight blocks and new parental controls.
The changes, announced by Meta on Wednesday as part of an agreement with a bipartisan group of attorneys general, will automatically apply to users under 18 in participating U.S. states and territories, pending judicial approval.
For families, here's a closer look at what will change.
A two-hour daily limit across Instagram and Facebook
Teens will be limited to two hours per day across Instagram and Facebook by default, and they won't be able to turn off the restriction without a parent's permission.
The two hours are cumulative, meaning time spent on both apps counts toward the same limit. Meta says it will also count time across multiple accounts when it detects they belong to the same teen.
Direct messages are excluded from the limit.
Instagram and Facebook will essentially shut down overnight
Between midnight and 6 a.m., teens will be blocked from most parts of Instagram and Facebook, including Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels.
Direct messaging will remain available so teens can still communicate with friends and family.
Fewer notifications during school hours
From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., notifications will automatically be muted for teen users.
There are exceptions: Teens can still receive notifications for direct messages as well as account security and safety alerts.
Teens will get more reminders to stop scrolling
Meta will begin prompting teens after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time.
Additional reminders will appear when their combined daily Instagram and Facebook usage reaches 60 minutes and again at 90 minutes.
Parents can require a non-algorithmic feed
Teens will have the option to make a non-personalized feed their default, meaning Meta's recommendation systems won't determine what content is served to them.
Meta says teens will periodically be reminded that the option exists. Parents will also be able to require their teen to use the non-algorithmic setting.
Autoplay can be turned off
Teens can disable autoplay, stopping videos and other content from playing automatically one after another.
Parents can also require the setting, meaning teens would have to take an intentional action, such as tapping or swiping, to see more content.
Like counts will be hidden
Teens will no longer see the number of likes and reactions on their own posts or other users' posts by default.
Meta will also block teen users from accessing cosmetic surgery filters and what the company describes as "extreme makeup filters."
Parents will get more information about their teen's account
Meta says it will expand its parental supervision tools, including notifying parents when a teen links a secondary account.
Parents may also receive alerts about interactions with potentially suspicious accounts, periodic updates about how much their teen is using the platforms and information about attempts to change protective settings.
Meta says it will do more to identify teens
The company also plans to strengthen technology designed to identify accounts that may belong to children under 13.
Meta says it will also work to identify users who may be between 13 and 17 but entered an adult birthday, allowing the company to place those accounts into its teen experience and automatically apply additional protections.
The majority of the new requirements are expected to remain in place for 10 years.
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