Instagram finally introduces a parental control feature

In light of the recent issues regarding mental health relating to app usage, Instagram has finally launched its parental control feature called Family Center. This allows parents and guardians to supervise their children’s activities on the app and keep their experiences safe and healthy. 

As a popular social media app, Instagram is known for having millions of active users but its fame can be a double-edged sword. It’s frequently criticized for quietly promoting more user engagement via its features. One of Instagram’s time management tools lost two options without a proper update announcement, for example. However, this new parental control feature aims to give back some user agency.

Instagram’s Family Center tool is actually a website section for parent company Meta’s apps. With it, parents can view their children’s app usage time, set time limits for them, be notified if their children report a user, and view updates on the accounts that they follow and are following them. Additionally, the feature offers resources from experts on parental control, social media, and how to talk to children and teens about such topics.

It’s currently available in the US and will roll out to other countries in the coming months. Instagram also plans to implement more features, like letting parents set specific hours during which their child can use the app and allowing more than one parent to supervise a child’s account. Plus, the website is expected to be integrated with other Meta apps in the future. 

This announcement also included the app’s plans to roll out VR parental supervision tools on Oculus Quest headsets. Some of the updates include expanding the existing unlock pattern functionality to prevent younger users from accessing anything that isn’t age-appropriate and launching a Parent Dashboard to easily monitor a child’s account. 

As sensitive issues become more widespread online, Meta continues to improve its apps and services in order to cater to everyone. Even older users are being protected through new features—such as Instagram live streams now having moderators in charge of curating the chatbox for offensive behavior. Let’s hope that such useful tools get even better over time.

Image credit: Instagram