Adults suspected of harassing minors will find it harder to operate on Facebook and Instagram. The company that owns both networks announced privacy policy updates in a blog post on Monday. The changes will apply to all users under a certain age threshold—16 or 18, depending on the country—shaping how private young accounts are by default.
Under the new rules, privacy settings will be more protective by default. Visibility of profiles, posts, friend lists, and other personal details will be restricted, making it harder for strangers to access youthful information.
Another layer of protection will come from improved detection of suspicious adult activity. The two apps will identify accounts operated by adults that are reported or blocked by young users as suspicious. Such profiles will stop appearing in friend-suggestion algorithms, reducing opportunities for unwanted contact.
Additionally, Instagram is examining whether these suspicious users would be prevented from sending direct messages to underage accounts. While these safeguards are in place, they may not cover scenarios where harassment involves two underage users interacting with one another.
Meta is also partnering with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to design an open platform with other technology companies that serve young people. The goal is to curb the circulation of private photos without consent and to strengthen user protections across the ecosystem.
Mental impact on minors
The policy updates come more than a year after Instagram shifted to private-by-default for newly created youth accounts. That move followed a period of intense scrutiny over the platform’s effects on younger users.
Public criticism intensified after internal documents were revealed in a controversy involving a former employee who highlighted harms associated with adolescent use. The disclosures suggested that Instagram was aware of rising anxiety and depressive symptoms among teens, and in particular that many young users felt worse about their bodies. Critics argued that the company did not move quickly enough to reverse those trends.
In response to protests and ongoing concerns, Instagram paused a separate initiative to launch a version of the platform for children under 13. The project was abandoned, and pressure continued for stronger safeguards for young users.
Despite these public calls for stronger protections, observers note that tactical changes may also align with commercial interests. Reports from various non governmental organizations last year indicated that Facebook and Instagram still collect data on the online behavior of users under 18 to tailor ads, a practice that had been restricted in mid-2021. The arrangements are widely understood to represent a significant portion of the company’s revenue, underscoring the tension between safety improvements and monetization.