Meta announced on Thursday that its Teen Accounts are now being expanded to teens on Facebook and Messenger globally, after initially only being available to users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada. The accounts, which feature built-in protections and parental controls for younger users, first launched on Instagram last fall.
Teen Accounts were originally launched shortly after Meta and other popular social networks were grilled by U.S. lawmakers for not doing enough to protect teens on their services.
With the global expansion on Facebook and Messenger, teens will now automatically be placed into an experience that is designed to limit inappropriate content and unwanted contact. Teens under the age of 16 need their parents’ permission to change any of the settings.
Additionally, teens will only receive messages from people they follow or have messaged before. Only teens’ friends can see and reply to their stories. Plus, tags, Mentions, and comments will also be limited to people they follow or who are their friends.
Teens will also receive reminders to leave the social networks after using them for an hour a day, and they’ll be enrolled in “Quiet mode” overnight.
