Meta announced on Thursday that it has begun rolling out its “teen accounts” with enhanced protections for adolescent users of Facebook and Messenger worldwide, months after their initial deployment in English-speaking countries.
In a blog post, the US tech giant said: “We’ve placed hundreds of millions of teens in Teen Accounts across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, and now we’re expanding them to teens around the world on Facebook and Messenger.”
The teen accounts, which include stricter privacy settings, content restrictions, and parental controls for users aged 13 to 17, were first introduced on Instagram in 2023. In April, Meta extended the feature to Facebook and Messenger in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Britain.
According to the company, the restrictions are aimed at addressing parents’ major concerns by limiting who teens can interact with, reducing exposure to harmful content, and encouraging more mindful use of social media. For users under 16, the protections cannot be disabled without parental consent.
The move comes amid growing concerns globally over the impact of social media on teenagers, with critics warning about excessive screen time and insufficient safeguards on digital platforms.
