Under attack from courts, Meta tightens monitoring of teens online usage

Meta today announced new features to support teens and families in managing and monitoring the time they spend on apps.

Meta announced these features as it came under attack after unredacted documents revealed that the social media company not only intentionally marketed its messaging platform to children but was also aware of the volume of inappropriate and sexually explicit content being shared with children, said a TechCrunch report.

As part of the announcement, Meta said that they are bringing parental supervision to Messenger, so that parents can see how teens spend their time and who they interact with.

“We’re also introducing new tools to limit unwanted interactions in Instagram Direct Messages (DM) and Messenger, launching Quiet Mode on Instagram globally, nudging teens to set time limits on Facebook and giving parents even more ways to supervise their teens on Instagram,” said the company in a statement.

Meta also announced the launch of night-time nudges that will show up when teens have spent more than 10 minutes on Instagram in places like Reels or Direct Messages late at night. “They’ll remind teens that it’s late, and encourage them to close the app,” said the company.

Last year, Meta made parental supervision tools available globally on Facebook, in addition to Instagram, Messenger, and Horizon Worlds. Parents can access Facebook supervision via Settings to see insights like time spent, schedule breaks for their teens, and access resources on managing their teens’ time online.