On Tuesday, Instagram announced that it will be tighter about the types of content it recommends to teens on the photo-sharing app and that it will steer them toward new topics if they spend too much time on one issue.
The social networking service revealed a number of adjustments for young users in a blog post. On Wednesday, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is scheduled to speak before a congressional committee on protecting children online.
Instagram and its parent company, Meta Platforms Inc, formerly Facebook, have been criticized for the manner in which its services may harm young people’s mental health, body image, and online safety.
Mosseri also stated in the post that persons who do not follow them on Instagram will no longer be able to tag or mention them. Teen Instagram users will be able to bulk remove their post, as well as previous likes and comments, starting in January, he added.
He claimed Instagram was looking into ways to prevent potentially hazardous or sensitive material that was being suggested to minors via its search function, hashtags, short-form video Reels, and ‘Suggested Accounts’ feature, as well as it’s curated ‘Explore’ tab.
Instagram’s ‘Take a Break’ feature, which encourages individuals to take a quick break from the app after using it for a set length of time, will be available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia on Tuesday, according to the blog.
People who do not follow Mosseri on Instagram will no longer be allowed to tag or mention them, according to the post. Starting in January, teen Instagram users will be able to bulk delete their posts, as well as prior likes and comments, he noted.
He said that Instagram was looking into ways to prevent kids from being exposed to potentially hazardous or sensitive information via its search function, hashtags, short-form video Reels, and ‘Suggested Accounts’ feature, as well as it’s curated ‘Explore’ page.
According to the blog, Instagram’s ‘Take a Break’ feature, which encourages users to leave the app after a certain amount of time, will be accessible in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia on Tuesday.
