Instagram makes accounts private for users under 16

Dimapur, July 27 (EMN): Facebook-owned Instagram is introducing changes to its users account visibility, especially for its young users under the age of 16, in a bid to give them a safer and more private experience on its platform.

Instagram on Tuesday said that it will be introducing changes to make it harder for suspicious accounts to find young people. User accounts under the age of 16 will be kept private now by default.

Instagram said it is rolling out these changes in the US, Australia, France, the UK and Japan to start and will look to expand to more countries soon.

On its official blog, Instagram wrote, “Creating an experience on Instagram that’s safe and private for young people, but also fun comes with competing challenges. We want them to easily make new friends and keep up with their family, but we don’t want them to deal with unwanted DMs or comments from strangers.”

It may be mentioned that in March Instagram started showing young people signing up to the platform the benefits of having a private account. Now the company has started making all under-16 accounts private by default.

✨ @JezzChung is here with tips on how to prioritize your privacy and protect your peace on Instagram ????https://t.co/L1FLIEWFnb pic.twitter.com/UsOegDFuvy

— Instagram (@instagram) July 27, 2021

The company is also introducing changes to discourage advertisers from targeting users under the age of 18. Previously, advertisers could target any user based on their interests and activity.

“If you have a private account, people have to follow you to see your posts, Stories and Reels. People also can’t comment on your content in those places, and they won’t see your content at all in places like Explore or hashtags,” the company said in a blog post.

“For young people who already have a public account on Instagram, we’ll show them a notification highlighting the benefits of a private account and explaining how to change their privacy settings. We’ll still give young people the choice to switch to a public account or keep their current account public if they wish.”

Besides introducing changes to user visibility based on their age, the platform is also working on developing an app for kids under 13. You can read about the under-13 Instagram app by clicking on this article by Buzz Feed.