Instagram Will Default the Account of New Users Under the Age of 16 to Private

BY Sanuj Bhatia

Published 27 Jul 2021

Instagram

Instagram today announced some changes coming to the platform for users under the age of 16. From now, every new user under the age of 16 that signs up on Instagram will have a ‘Private’ account by default.

These new changes to protect children’s accounts comes amid the effort of “keeping Instagram safe for children.” Instagram says that it wants children to connect with their family and friends but doesn’t want them to deal with unwanted DMs or comments from strangers.

So, the platform has decided to keep the new account for children as Private. Existing users that are 16-years-old will receive a notification to convert their account from Public to Private.

“Historically, we asked young people to choose between a public account or a private account when they signed up for Instagram, but our recent research showed that they appreciate a more private experience. During testing, eight out of ten young people accepted the private default settings during sign-up.”

On top of this change, Instagram will make it harder for people to “find young accounts.” It will also limit advertisers from reaching “young people with ads.”

In the coming weeks, Instagram will implement changes that will prevent advertisers from targeting people under the age of 18 with ads.

“This means that previously available targeting options, like those based on interests or on their activity on other apps and websites, will no longer be available to advertisers. These changes will be global and apply to Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.”

Facebook says that young people may not be equipped with the decision of what to buy and what not to. After the users turn 18, Instagram will notify that advertisers will be able to track their usage and control their ad experience.

This, of course, depends on whether the users have enabled App Tracking Transparency or not. If the users have asked ‘Apps not to Track,’ Instagram will show them generic ads regardless of their age.

[Via Instagram]