Meta has just announced new measures on Messenger and Instagram which will better protect minor users. By default, children will no longer receive any messages from an adult they don’t know. For their part, parents gain more control over the supervision of their children on social networks.
Lately, Meta seems to take the protection of children particularly seriously on its social networks. It must be said that the company has been called out on the subject numerous times in recent years, which explains why it is now seeking to make amends. A few days ago in particular, the group introduced new restrictions to prevent children from coming across sensitive content by chance.
Meta is now attacking its messaging services, a high place of danger for children who are constantly at risk of receiving unsolicited messages. The firm had already ensured that adult users no longer have the right to contact minors who do not follow them on social networks. From now on and by default, children will no longer receive any messages from strangers. In addition, the company is also preparing a feature that will identify inappropriate content in messages, like iMessage.
Parents will be able to better monitor their children on Messenger and Instagram
However, children will be able to deactivate this option from their settings. Fortunately, Meta will also include a feature that will help parents better supervise their children on social networks. To date, Instagram notifies them whenever a minor user makes a change to their account.
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From now on, certain settings will be protected and will require supervisor approval to be modified. Good news, this includes the setting that protects children against unsolicited messages from strangers. These changes will be applicable to user accounts under 16 or 18 years of age, depending on the legislation in each country.
Source: Meta