Are Instagram Teen Accounts really protected - even from Meta?
Instagram Teen Accounts may help protect from online threats, but that doesn’t mean they’re protected from Meta’s data collection.
The aim of Instagram Teen Accounts is to create features that enhance the privacy, safety, and well-being of Meta users under the age of 18. But will it also reduce data collection from your kids? The features released to better protect teens from online threats like predators and sexual content are a step in the right direction, especially now that these same protections are being rolled out to Facebook and Messenger, but unfortunately, it doesn’t mean your teen’s private data is exempt from Meta’s invasive data collection. Let’s dive into what the Teens Feature means and how it differs from an adult’s Instagram account.
Meta’s Teens Feature doesn’t protect your child’s data
Meta has taken steps to better protect teenagers who use its platforms from other users, for instance, by making sure teenagers can not view explicit sexual images or are better protected from unknown people trying to contact them with direct messages. However, while all of this looks good on the outside and can be used for marketing by Meta, it hides the fact that Meta is still collecting teenagers’ data, tracking them, and making huge profits from the data collected. So no, your teenager’s data is not protected, and their privacy is at risk even with Instagram Teens Accounts.
The introduction of these teen accounts is marketed to seem like the perfect solution for teenagers to be better protected, but this is Big Tech privacy washing. These new features are created to convince users of increased privacy for teens but unfortunately younger users are still not truly protected when using Instagram or any other social media platform.
What data Meta collects about teenagers
Before we dive in and look at what data is collected from Meta Teens, it’s important to know that Meta products, Facebook, and Instagram make their profits off collecting and selling user data. FaceBook especially is known for excessive tracking and invasive data collection practices.
If you read our articles on a regular basis, you will also know that when it comes to free online services like Facebook and Google, you are the product. The same is true for teenagers using Instagram Teen Accounts and other Meta products. For teenagers using Meta products, there are some small changes to what data is collected and how it’s used. These can be found in its privacy policy.
Even if your Teenager has a Meta Teens Account, Meta still tracks and collects a lot of their data.
What data Meta collects from users under the age of 18
- All the information needed to sign up: name, email address, phone number, age
- What they do on the platform: clicks, likes, any content created, posts, photos, messages sent
- Interactions with content, including the ads they viewed or engaged with
- All friends and followers, and what they do on Meta products
- App, browser, and device information
- Even if the settings for location services are turned off, Meta still collects IP addresses to estimate their location
- What’s done off Meta’s products: the websites they visit, apps used, and games they play.
- How often they use Meta products and the time spent on each platform
- If they upload or import contacts, Meta collects all contact’s names, cellphone numbers, and email addresses.
- Device signals such as GPS, Bluetooth, close Wi-Fi access points, beacons, and cell towers.
- Information the user chooses to share with Meta through device settings, for example, their location and photos.
How Meta uses teen data
The majority of Meta’s revenue comes through advertising on its platforms. To do this, Meta collects user data and sells it to advertisers who in return create advertisements shown to groups of people more likely to engage with the ad – with the aim of increasing sales.
In Meta’s privacy policy, the company explains that it processes user information to understand one’s interests, preferences, and to create a personalized experience. While creating a personalized experience sounds nice, in reality what it means is that its algorithms choose what to show you and this has an influence on the ads you see.
Within Europe, Meta cannot show teens under the age of 18 advertisements on its platforms, which is good because tech companies should not be in control of what advertisements young people see - especially given how much these companies can infer based on the data collected. Unfortunately, for teen users in other countries with fewer data protection policies in place, Meta is allowed to advertise in Teen Accounts with the restrictions that businesses advertising can “only” use one’s age and location to determine the ads shown.
Meta Ai is now in WhatsApp and it can’t be turned off – find out which is the best WhatsApp alternative in 2025!
A history of social media harm for teens
Meta’s push to introduce features for teens who use its platforms comes after Frances Haugen exposed Meta’s research in 2021, which showed that the company knew Instagram had the potential to worsen body image issues for teenagers. Since then, the tech giant has faced numerous lawsuits related to its negative effect on teenagers. For example, in 2023, more than 30 US states sued Meta over allegations that the tech giant consciously and deliberately created features on Facebook and Instagram that were addictive and worsened young people’s mental health.
Even more recently, just last Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing in the U.S., Meta whistleblower, Sara Wynn-Williams, admitted that Meta which was called Facebook at the time targeted teens between the ages of 13 and 17 with ads based on their emotional state - for example, when they felt down or depressed.
We’ve briefly highlighted three different occasions where Meta has come under fire and been exposed for how it has dealt and used the data of its users under the age of 18. If you’re interested in learning more, we’d recommend checking out The Wall Street Journals, The Facebook Files series where its central finding uncovered that Facebook knew that it had flaws that caused severe harm.
Can you trust Meta?
Meta is a Big Tech that makes its profits off advertising, this is why it offers its products for free - so that it can collect users’ data. And as we explored earlier, your child is not exempt from Meta’s invasive data collection. What becomes very clear is that Meta’s Teen Accounts are a step to protect your child from online predators, but your child certainly isn’t protected from Meta itself. Teens are still being tracked, having their data collected, and Meta knows far more than it should about them.
The fact that Meta has also faced numerous legal battles related to teenagers using its products is cause for concern and should be a big red flag to concerned parents. Even though Meta is now trying to make it a safer experience for teenagers with its Teen Accounts, it’s hard to look past its unethical past practices that have led to the harm of teenagers.
What is Meta’s Teens Feature?
Meta Teens was first rolled out to Instagram in September of 2024, and now it is being rolled out to Facebook and Messenger. The aim of Meta’s Teen Accounts is to better protect teens online with its built-in protections. By default teens below the age of 18 are placed into these accounts and for users under the age of 16, parental permission is needed to change the added safety features.
Meta under 18 restrictions
- Users under 16 cannot go live
- Accounts are set to private by default
- Teens can only be messaged by people they follow or are connected to
- Sensitive content restrictions limit the sensitive content that appears on their feed
- Teens can only be mentioned or tagged by people they follow
- It’s anti-bully feature ensures that offensive words and phrases are filtered out
- Reminders to stop using the app after 60 minutes
Additionally, Meta also allows parents to have more control over their child’s account. For example, Meta has introduced features that allow the parent to see who the teen has messaged (can’t read the message), they can set daily time limits, block the account for specific periods, and see the topics their child is viewing.
All in all, while the Teens Account is a step in the right direction, it very much looks like Meta is doing this only to satisfy legislators, not to really change its app or make it less addictive for teenagers. This, and the fact that Meta is still collecting tons of data from your teens, should make you think twice before allowing your child to download Instagram.
