Meta rolls out new teen safety settings globally: Here's how to turn them on

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, has announced a major expansion of its teen safety features by rolling out new "13+" content settings globally across its platforms.

The move comes as social media companies face growing pressure from regulators, parents and child safety advocates to create safer online experiences for young users.

The California-based technology giant said the new settings are designed to ensure that teenagers are shown age-appropriate content by default.

The feature was initially launched in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada last year, where Meta says nine out of ten teens have remained in the setting since its introduction.

Under the updated system, teen accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger will automatically have stricter content controls. The settings are designed to limit exposure to content deemed inappropriate for younger users and reduce interactions with accounts that primarily share such material.

Meta also announced a new Instagram feature aimed at diversifying the content shown to teenagers. The tool is intended to prevent users from repeatedly seeing the same types of posts and recommendations in their feeds.

Step-by-step guide to enable teen content settings (Meta)

• Open Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger and log in to the teen account
• Go to Profile → Settings & Privacy → Settings
• Find Teen Accounts / Content Controls / Family Center (name may vary)
• Enable 13+ Content Setting / Teen Protection Mode
• Set content preference to Strict / Default Teen Safety mode
• Adjust privacy controls (messages, comments, tags)
• Optionally enable Parental Supervision via Family Center
• Review and limit suggested content topics
• Save changes and restart the app if needed

The latest update comes amid Meta's broader push to strengthen protections for young users. In recent months, the company has introduced additional parental supervision tools and expanded safety features across its family of apps.

The social media giant said the expanded safeguards are meant to help teenagers have safer and more age-appropriate experiences online as scrutiny over children's digital wellbeing continues to intensify worldwide.