Introducing Instagram teen accounts in SA: enhancing safety online

In a significant step towards enhancing online safety for teenagers, Meta announced the launch of Teen Accounts on Instagram in South Africa.

This initiative is part of Meta’s broader commitment to ensuring safe, private, and positive online experiences for teens across Africa.

"As more South African teens join Instagram, it is crucial to prioritise their safety and privacy. Parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences. Teen Accounts were designed to better support parents, and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place," Meta said.

"Teen Accounts have built-in protections which limit who can contact them and the content they see, and we’ll automatically place teens in South Africa into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict," Meta added. 

Key protections offered with Teen Accounts include:

• Private Accounts: Teen accounts are set to private by default, and teens under 16 can only change this setting with parental guidance.
• Messaging Restrictions: Teens can only receive messages from people they are already connected to.
• Sensitive Content Control: Teen Accounts are automatically set to see less sensitive content in search results and recommended content in Explore, Feed and Reels.
• Limited Interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and the strictest anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, is enabled by default.
• Time Limit Reminders: Notifications prompt teens to exit the app after 60 minutes of daily usage.
• Sleep Mode: Enabled from 10 PM to 7 AM, this feature mutes notifications and sends automatic replies to DMs overnight.

“We’re excited to bring these features to South Africa and help families navigate online spaces safely. Teen Accounts are designed to give parents peace of mind, allowing teens to connect with friends and explore interests without worrying about unsafe experiences,” said Sylvia Musalagani, Safety Policy Manager, Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET) at Meta.

Since Meta started reimagining its apps for teens with Teen Accounts globally in September 2024, Meta has enrolled 54 million teens into Teen Accounts on Instagram, with 97% of those aged 13–15 remaining within the strict default protections protective settings.

Lindo Sithole, a South African parenting influencer, said, “In this digital age, ensuring your child’s online safety can be daunting. This initiative is an empowering step towards navigating this new era with greater awareness and safety.”

To mark the launch, Meta is hosting an exclusive event series where parents, content creators, policy stakeholders, media and teens can engage on the available safety features and tools.

Meta said that it remains committed to developing tools, resources, and partnerships that protect teens and foster safer online experiences for families in South Africa.

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