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Even teenagers won’t be able to receive direct messages from underage accounts they aren’t already connected with on the app.
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Published Jan 25, 2024 12:30 PM EST
Meta’s newest update is just the latest in a string of changes focused on teen online safety. Deposit Photos
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Meta continues to steadily roll out updates for younger users in an attempt to bolster their safety and privacy. Notably, a recent announcement from the tech company unveils its most restrictive measures aimed at keeping teens safe online. In theory, this means that teens users will no longer receive direct messages on Instagram and Facebook from anyone that isn’t a follower or connection. “Connections,” according to Meta, are those people that users have “communicated with” in some way, such as sending text messages, voice or video calls, or accepting message requests. A similar update is also going into effect on Facebook, with messages only allowed from friends and “people they’re connected to through phone contacts, for example.”
The expanded rules will automatically apply to global users under the age of either 16 or 18, depending on their country’s laws, who now also cannot message other teens they are not connected to. Similarly, group chats with teens can only include their friends or connections.
[Related: Instagram will start telling teens to put down their phones and go to sleep.]
To disable the setting, teens will need to receive permission from their parents through the social media platforms’ parental supervision tools. According to Meta, affected users will receive a notification on their apps regarding the new changes. Until now, parents and guardians would receive notifications if teens changed their settings, but couldn’t do anything about it.
“As with all our parental supervision tools, this new feature is intended to help facilitate offline conversations between parents and their teens, as they navigate their online lives together and decide what’s best for them and their family,” Meta wrote in today’s newsroom post.
The direct message changes arrive following multiple recent changes tailored for Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger’s under-18 crowds. Last week, Meta announced a new “nighttime nudge” feature that will begin politely reminding teens at regular intervals after 10pm to drop their phones and turn in for the night. Earlier this month, the company also revealed plans to roll out automatically restrictive content settings focused on curtailing young people’s exposure to potentially harmful subject matter,