Instagram starts offering parental controls

We don't think it's a coincidence that Instagram stated it was working on adding parental controls to the site just a few weeks after it was revealed that its director, Adam Mosseri, would have to testify before a Senate hearing.

However, the good news is that, after several months of announcing that they were working on it, Instagram finally presents the Family Center, a unified space in which parents will be able to have some control over what their children do on Instagram, as well as having access to useful information on how to act in the many different cases that can arise when using the tool.

The installation of Instagram's parental control features, on the other hand, will be phased in. It will initially be available exclusively in the United States, but the company intends to expand into many other locations over the next few months. The same is true for its functions, which will be introduced gradually.

Parents will be able to check how much time their teens spend on Instagram, establish time limits, receive notifications when they report another user or a damaging post, and view and receive updates on which profiles they follow and which accounts follow them in this first phase. Without a question, Instagram makes a significant step in the right direction with this first block. Now, as with any first step, it must be sustained over time, with greater improvement in this regard.

In this regard, and as we can read on the blog, the next Instagram update will allow parents to choose which time slots minors can and cannot access the social network, as well as solve an important limitation of this initial version by allowing more than one person to supervise the minor's activity, which is currently not possible.

At the time, Family Center is just getting started. Thus, for the time being, minors will have to start the parental supervision function of Instagram through the app for Android or iOS (it cannot be done through the Instagram web interface), and it will be in June when these "registrations" have occurred in the parental control system, that parents will be able to begin the process of supervising their children's activities. Surprisingly, and for the better, this can be done from a PC.

Because Instagram stores users' birth dates, when minors reach the age of majority, their accounts will automatically exit Family Center, and parents will no longer be able to monitor or regulate their children's Instagram activity. This system, also seems acceptable to me, because the platform must value their privacy when they reach the legal age.

We expect to see more development in this area and to be able to appreciate the fact that, rather than creating an Instagram for kids, Meta is focused on creating a healthy Instagram for everyone.