Case Study – Is Instagram now safe for teens?

In September 2024, Meta announced the introduction of Instagram Teen Accounts, describing them as a major advancement in protecting young users online. These accounts were promoted as having different default privacy settings, notification ‘quiet times’ between 10pm and 7am, ‘break’ reminders, and the option for parental controls. These features are a step towards better safety. The issue is they are not enough.

This case study reflects preliminary findings from ongoing deeper research into Instagram’s Teen Accounts, among other services. The early stages of this investigation revealed that young users signing up to new accounts are still exposed to risky contact recommendations, hidden advertising, sexualised or misleading content and addictive design patterns.