WEB DESK: Meta has introduced a range of new tools and updates designed to enhance safety for teenagers and children across its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook.
These enhancements include refined direct messaging options for young users, expanded protections against nudity, and stronger safeguards for accounts managed by adults that mainly feature minors, according to an official statement.
Teen accounts will now provide more context about who they are messaging, such as safety tips, account creation date, and a new quick option to block and report message senders. In June alone, teens utilized Meta’s safety notices to block over 1 million accounts and reported another million after viewing safety alerts.
To combat cross-border sextortion scams, Meta is rolling out a “Location Notice” feature on Instagram. This alert informs users when they are chatting with someone in another country, a tactic often exploited to target young people. Over 10% of users clicked on the notice to learn more about protective measures.
Meta’s nudity protection feature, which automatically blurs suspected explicit images in direct messages, remains widely used—99% of users, including teens, kept this setting active as of June. This feature has also contributed to a 45% reduction in forwarding explicit content, as recipients are less likely to share such images after receiving warnings.
For accounts operated by adults that prominently feature children—such as those managed by parents or talent agents—Meta is now applying Teen Account-level protections. These include stricter message controls and automatic filtering of offensive comments through Hidden Words, aiming to block unwanted contact proactively.
Moreover, Meta will make these accounts less discoverable through search and recommendation algorithms, reducing exposure to suspicious users. This effort complements previous measures like disabling the ability to accept gifts or offer paid subscriptions on such accounts.
In ongoing efforts to combat harmful content, Meta has removed nearly 135,000 Instagram accounts for posting sexualized comments or soliciting sexual images from accounts managed by adults that feature children under 13. An additional 500,000 accounts linked to these offenders have also been taken down. Meta continues to collaborate with other tech firms through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern program to prevent these malicious actors from resurfacing elsewhere.
