Meta introduces more parental control on Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram

Meta has announced new parental control on Messenger, where they can have access to Messenger’s supervision tools and resources. These tools, which have been provided by leading experts, as claimed, will let parents support their teens through the Meta Family Centre. These controls are currently available in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, but the company has asserted that it will soon launch these features in more countries around the world.

Parental tools on Messenger
These tools let parents supervise their teen’s messenger. From tracking how much time their teens spend on the app to having access to their messenger’s settings, parents would have all the necessary information with them. However, these tools do not give parents access to their teen’s messages.

Apart from tracking their child’s activity on the app, the tools would allow the parents to have access to their child’s contact list and its updates, along with the app’s privacy settings. Also, the parents would have the power to decide who can message their child. They can choose it to be only their friends, friends of friends, or no one, and if the teen changes these settings, the parent will be able to view it. Further, the parents can control who can view their child’s stories, and if the teen changes anything, the parent will be notified.

Meta has asserted that it will introduce more parental controls for better Messenger supervision, allowing parents to better manage their teen’s time and engagement.

Privacy features
Meta has further updated its privacy features. The company is testing the features to protect people from spam and unwanted interactions in Instagram DMs. These features stand to become more important as they reach teens.

If people want to interact with someone, they must now send an invitation to connect with them before they can message them if they are not following them. Until the recipient accepts the offer to connect, users are only able to send one invitation at a time. Further, Meta is planning to restrict these message request invitations to text-only transmissions, prohibiting the sending of any images, videos, voice messages, or phone calls until the invitation to chat has been accepted by the recipient. With these modifications, users won’t receive unwanted images, movies, or other media from users they don’t follow.

Take A Break!
Meta has created features like Take a Break on Instagram because the company notes that teens must feel good while spending time on their apps. Because of this feature, teenagers will soon receive a warning alerting them when they’ve spent 20 minutes on Facebook. This will encourage them to set daily time restrictions and take breaks from the platform. Meta is hard at work testing a new Instagram nudge that tells teens to stop using the app if they browse Reels at night.

Parental Tools on Instagram
Meta has added certain parental controls to Instagram as well. This will give parents more access to their teens’ experiences on the platform. With these new features, teens would receive a notice after blocking someone. The warning advises teenagers to add their parents as an additional layer of protection to monitor their Instagram account. Meta is planning to reach out to kids through this message to remind them of the advantages of parental assistance when it comes to navigating their internet activities.

What’s more, parents will now be able to see how many friends their kid has in common with those accounts in addition to viewing which accounts their child follows and is followed by. This will aid in starting offline conversations about those links and help parents realise how well their kids know these accounts. Meta is planning to provide more options for parents to choose the notifications they receive from Parental Supervision on Instagram and how frequently they receive them.

With these controls, Meta is trying to help the teens feel that they are in complete control of their online experience, while the parents should feel equipped enough to support their teens through the experience.