Instagram to limit sensitive content for young teens by default

Instagram will be enabling its restrictive content filter for new users under the age of 16, recommending young teens do the same.

The app renamed its existing content settings to Less, Standard, and More so that users can limit content containing violence, sexual imagery, cosmetic procedures, and other “sensitive” subjects.

Only users over the age of 18 can access the More Settings which has the least amount of filters available on the platform for the public. While users under 16 will have the Less setting turned on by default which will include content in Search, Reels, suggested accounts, hashtags, and in-feed recommendations.

The social media giant plans to ask young teens to perform a “settings check-up” to limit who can share their content and directly message them, and the content their followers can view. Teens will also be able to update a feature that will help them limit their time spent on the app. The content settings will only apply to the account that the users don't follow.

While the recent change is a big step toward reducing the impact social media has on young adults, the change will not push many teenagers to willingly switch to the restrictive mode.