Meta Expands Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger

Meta is rolling out its dedicated “Teen Accounts” feature globally on Facebook and Messenger, marking a significant shift in how users under 18 sign up for its platforms and granting parents more granular control over their online safety.

In a major update aimed at enhancing youth safety, Meta has announced the worldwide expansion of its Teen Accounts feature. First tested earlier this year, this new account type is now becoming the default experience for teenagers joining Facebook and Messenger, providing built-in privacy protections and a suite of parental supervision tools.

The move directly addresses growing concerns from regulators and parents about the well-being of younger users on social media platforms.

Contents hide

1 What Are Meta’s Teen Accounts?

1.1 Key Features and Parental Controls

1.2 A Response to Mounting Scrutiny on Youth Mental Health

1.3 Past Failures in Moderating Harmful Content

1.4 Legal Reckoning Over Allegations of Youth Addiction

1.5 Shifting from Reactive to Preventative Safety

1.6 The Driving Force Behind the Update

1.7 What This Means for Teens and Parents

What Are Meta’s Teen Accounts?

Unlike standard accounts, Teen Accounts are pre-configured with stricter privacy and safety settings. The key difference lies in the integrated parental oversight. When a teen signs up, they are encouraged to add a parent or guardian to their account, unlocking a new layer of supervision through Meta’s Family Center.

This initiative is designed to create a more age-appropriate and secure environment from the moment a teenager begins using Meta’s services.

Key Features and Parental Controls

The global rollout introduces specific, non-negotiable defaults for Teen Accounts, alongside configurable parental controls. Key features include:

Stricter Default Privacy Settings: Teens’ accounts are automatically set to a more private audience for their posts. Additionally, suspicious adults are prevented from messaging teens or interacting with them in comments sections.
Parental Supervision Tools: Once linked, parents can access a dashboard to oversee their teen’s activity. Critical controls include:
- Monitoring Friending: Seeing who their teen friends, without reading message content.
- Tracking Time Spent: Viewing how much time their teen spends on Facebook and Messenger.
- Setting Time Limits: Establishing daily time limits for app usage.
- Receiving Notifications: Getting alerts when their teen updates their privacy settings or reports someone.
Educational Resources: Both teens and parents are presented with safety guides and educational materials on navigating online spaces responsibly.

A Response to Mounting Scrutiny on Youth Mental Health

This proactive shift is critically necessary, as Meta’s platforms have faced intense scrutiny over their impact on youth mental health. Internal company documents, famously revealed by whistleblower Frances Haugen, showed that Instagram, owned by Meta, was found to exacerbate body image issues and anxiety among teenage girls. This evidence highlighted a stark disconnect between the company’s internal knowledge of potential harms and its public-facing narrative.

Past Failures in Moderating Harmful Content

The need for robust protection is further underscored by past failures in content moderation. For years, teens on Meta’s platforms have been exposed to harmful content related to eating disorders and self-harm, with algorithms sometimes inadvertently promoting such dangerous communities. While Meta has stated it removes this content, critics argue its scale and algorithmic amplification have historically made it difficult to control, leaving young users vulnerable.

Legal Reckoning Over Allegations of Youth Addiction

These issues have directly translated into real-world consequences, attracting legal and regulatory action. Numerous states have sued Meta, alleging the company knowingly designed features that fostered youth addiction to its platforms, contributing to a youth mental health crisis. The global rollout of Teen Accounts can be seen as a direct response to this mounting legal pressure and a attempt to implement safer design principles.

Shifting from Reactive to Preventative Safety

By introducing default protections and mandatory supervision tools, Meta is now attempting to correct course. The Teen Accounts feature represents a fundamental change from a reactive model—where harms are addressed after they occur—to a preventative one. This move acknowledges the unique vulnerability of teenage users and sets a new standard for how social media platforms might be required to protect younger audiences moving forward.

The Driving Force Behind the Update

This strategic shift is largely a response to increasing regulatory pressure worldwide. Laws like the UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code and various state-level regulations in the US are pushing tech companies to prioritize “safety by design” for younger users.

By proactively implementing these features globally, Meta aims to standardize youth protection across its platforms and demonstrate a commitment to safer online experiences. The company stated that the goal is to “equip teens and their parents with the tools and resources they need to safely navigate their online experiences.”

What This Means for Teens and Parents

For families, this update represents a significant step toward transparency and shared management of online safety.

For Parents: The tools offer a structured way to guide their teens’ social media use without being overly intrusive. It moves beyond simply banning apps to fostering conversations about digital literacy and safety.
For Teens: While some may view the supervision as restrictive, the pre-set privacy features offer automatic protection against unwanted contact and content. The system is designed to encourage responsible habits from the start.

The global rollout of Teen Accounts on Facebook and Messenger is currently underway. Existing teen users will be prompted to upgrade to a Teen Account, and new users under 18 will be enrolled automatically.