13+ teen – Meta is rolling out new 13+ content settings for teen accounts globally across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, alongside a stricter “Limited Content” option later this year. The update also includes new testing aimed at stopping teens from repeatedly seein
A teen account should not feel like a gamble. Starting now, Meta is trying to make it harder for young users to be repeatedly pushed toward posts that don’t match their age—by tightening what they see by default across Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.
Last October. Meta updated Instagram Teen Accounts in the US. UK. Australia. and Canada. defaulting teens into a new 13+ content setting. Meta says the setting is meant to show teens more age-appropriate content by default. drawing inspiration from movie ratings criteria and parent feedback. It also says 9 out of 10 teens have remained in the 13+ setting since its launch. For parents who want even stricter limits, Meta previously introduced a stricter “Limited Content” setting.
Today, Meta is expanding those same 13+ content settings globally across Teen Accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. On Facebook. the new 13+ default setting is designed to hide content that Meta says is inappropriate for teens in places like Feed and Reels. It also aims to limit teens’ ability to interact with Profiles, Pages, Groups, and Events that primarily post inappropriate content. On Messenger. the 13+ default setting limits teens’ ability to view links to what Meta describes as inappropriate Facebook content. and limits teens’ ability to chat with accounts that primarily share inappropriate content on Facebook. Meta says the Limited Content setting will also become available on Facebook and Messenger later this year.
Meta also points to ongoing parent involvement as part of the rollout. As the settings expanded across more countries and apps. Meta says it continued inviting parents worldwide to rate Facebook and Instagram content and tell Meta whether it’s appropriate for teens. Meta says it has heard from hundreds of thousands of parents who have rated more than 15 million pieces of content. In its most recent survey at the end of April—where parents in the US. UK. Australia. and Canada reviewed Facebook content recommended to teens in their respective countries—Meta says fewer than 2% of posts were considered inappropriate for teens by most parents.
The other part of today’s update is about repetition—how often teens are shown the same kind of content. Meta says it recognizes that some posts. such as those about nutrition. weightlifting. or how to cope with anxiety. can be helpful. The goal, Meta says, is balance—showing that material without letting it dominate a feed. That’s why Meta is testing ways to limit teens from repeatedly seeing too many posts of this kind in one go. including in Explore. Feed. and Reels.
To stress-test its approach. Meta commissioned an external assessment from Alice (formerly ActiveFence). describing Alice as a group of online safety experts with experience in stress-testing systems designed to keep people safe. Alice compared mature themes—based on Meta’s age-appropriate guidelines—found on Instagram with a “leading competitor” and with movies rated 13+.
Alice’s assessment found that Instagram Teen Accounts in the default 13+ setting saw 68% less mature content than on the competitor’s teen experience. It also found that Instagram Teen Accounts in the stricter Limited Content setting experienced an additional layer of protection. seeing 96% less mature content than on the competitor’s teen experience. Meta says where Instagram Teen Accounts did see mature content. it was less intense than the mature content seen on the competitor and in movies rated 13+. Alice also found that Instagram blocked mature search terms more frequently than its competitor.
Meta says the assessment also reported that certain functionalities worked as described: Instagram Teen Accounts are defaulted into the 13+ content setting; teens can’t select the More Content setting without a parent’s permission; and teens in the Limited Content setting can’t see or post comments.
Still, Alice identified two areas for improvement, and Meta says it moved quickly to address them. Meta says Instagram Teen Accounts already had safeguards to prevent interaction with accounts that regularly share age-inappropriate content. But when Alice’s assessment identified a few exceptions, Meta says it updated its detection signals to better catch them. Meta adds that. as the Alice report notes. “these improvement measures were subsequently retested and found to be effective prior to publication.”.
In the rare instances where Alice’s researchers encountered mature content on Instagram. Meta says the content mostly involved “risky stunts” or “viral challenges.” After review. Meta says “car surfing”—a newly popular trend—wasn’t yet covered by its policies. unlike “subway surfing. ” which was already restricted for teens. Meta says it updated its policies to restrict this content for teens.
Meta says it is encouraged by the results and will continue stress testing its systems to keep improving. It also says more details on Alice’s results and the methodology are available here.
There’s one more note at the end of Meta’s update that matters for how people interpret these numbers. Meta says there are lots of differences between social media and movies. Meta says it didn’t work with the MPA when updating its content settings. and that the MPA isn’t rating any content on Instagram and isn’t endorsing or approving Meta’s content settings. Meta says it drew inspiration from the MPA’s public guidelines—already familiar to parents—and from feedback from parents. Meta adds that its content moderation systems are not the same as a movie ratings board. so the experience may not be exactly the same.
Instagram teen accounts Facebook 13+ content setting Messenger teen safety Limited Content Alice ActiveFence stress test parent ratings mature content exposure