Instagram rolls out parental supervision tools, 'family centre' in India

Image-sharing platform says the intention is to strike balance between autonomy and safety for young people

Instagram on Thursday rolled out supervision tools in India to help parents be more involved in their teenage children’s experience on the image-sharing platform.

Instagram launched Parental Supervision Controls and Family Centre, where parents and guardians can access resources about social media, in the US in March this year.

Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, said it is working with experts, parents, guardians and young people in India to understand needs. "The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us at Meta. Our intention is to strike the right balance for young people's desire for some autonomy when using Instagram, but also allows for supervision in a way that supports conversations between parents and young people when it is helpful,” said Natasha Jog, head, public policy, Instagram, Facebook India (Meta).

The supervision tools allow parents and guardians to manage the time their young people spend on Instagram, view accounts followed, and the accounts that follow them. The tools will notify parents and guardians when their young people report someone.

Meta will work with Kidsstoppress.com, a discovery platform for Indian parents. “Having a safe and enriching online experience is one of the top concerns parents continually have. We’re glad Instagram is rolling out these supervision tools in India, and we’re looking forward to partnering with them, so the parenting community in India is aware and equipped with these tools, and can initiate a conversation with their teen on it,” said Mansi Zaveri, founder & CEO of Kidsstoppress.com.

On Instagram, parents and guardians can send invitations to their young people to initiate Supervision Tools. The Family Centre, which is available in English and Hindi, includes an education hub where parents and guardians can access resources from experts and review helpful articles, videos and tips on topics like how to talk to young people about social media. Parents can also watch video tutorials on how to use the new Supervision Tools to get the most out of the platform.

Meta will work with Yuvaa, a youth media and insights company, to drive awareness about these resources. “Young people today want to speak about their online experiences, but have apprehensions while doing so with their parents, because the generation gap for the Gen Zs has unfortunately become a communication gap,” said Nikhil Taneja, co-founder and CEO of Yuvaa.

The Family Centre includes resources such ‘Dealing with Exam Stress’ guide; an LGBTQ guide on being safe online; and a guide to ‘Buidling Health Digital Habits’.