It is safer by default than it used to be. Every under-18 is now put into a Teen Account with stricter settings. And since May, Meta can read their private messages.
What a Teen Account does. The account is private. Strangers can’t message your teen. Notifications go quiet overnight. Under-16s need a parent’s permission to loosen any of it. Since late 2025, what teens see has been held to roughly a PG-13 film standard, and they can’t switch that off without a parent. The same Teen Accounts now cover Facebook and Messenger too.
What you can see. If you set up supervision in Meta’s Family Center, you can see how long your teen spends on the app and who they message, though not what they say. Since 12 May 2026 you can also see the list of topics Instagram’s algorithm has built around your child, which decides what it shows them next.
Where it leaks. In 2025 a former Meta engineer and researchers from NYU and Northeastern tested 47 of Instagram’s teen safety tools and found most didn’t work as promised. Adults could still message teens, and abusive phrases got through the filters. Meta disputes the findings. Teen Accounts also depend on the birthday your teen typed in. Meta is using AI to catch under-16s who lied, but that only reaches some countries so far.
Messages. Since 8 May 2026, Instagram direct messages are no longer end-to-end encrypted. Meta can read every message, photo and voice note, and says it may use them for moderation, safety and AI development.
What’s coming in the US. In August, Meta agreed with 52 US attorneys general to put a two-hour daily limit on teens, block most of the app between midnight and 6am, and quieten notifications during school hours. It’s still waiting for a judge’s approval, and it only applies in the US. The details are here.
Questions like this one, answered every Thursday. Free.
What this means for you right now
If your teen has Instagram, this is what I’d do.
Check the birthday on the account is their real one. Every protection on this page depends on it.
Set up supervision in Family Center, then go through the topics list with your teen rather than behind their back. It’s a better conversation than “show me your phone”.
Treat their messages as something Meta can read, and tell them so. Assume Meta can read it, because it can.
Send this to another parent on WhatsApp
See how Instagram compares with the other apps your teen uses in the App scorecard.
Checked 13 November 2026.
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