Meta Introduces Major Changes to Restrict Children’s Access to Its Apps Following Settlement with States

As part of its $18 billion settlement addressing claims from 29 U.S. states regarding the safety of children, Meta unveiled a series of major changes on Wednesday designed to limit teenagers’ access to Instagram and Facebook. These alterations encompass a daily time limit, a strict “Night Mode,” autoplay settings, and more.

The tech company asserts that these newly introduced safety measures will automatically be applied to users under 18 on Instagram and Facebook in participating U.S. states and territories, pending legal approval. Most of these modifications are required to remain in place for a period of 10 years.

One significant change is the introduction of a daily two-hour time limit for teens on the platforms. This limit can only be bypassed with parental permission, and once the time is up, teenagers will be locked out of both Facebook and Instagram.

Meta explains that the time limit will be cumulative across both Facebook and Instagram, so the time spent on either app will count toward the total two-hour allowance. The restriction will also be applied if Meta detects that a user is operating multiple accounts.

Additionally, children will have the option to choose a non-algorithmic feed that is not personalized by recommendation systems as their default setting. Previously, users could temporarily switch to a chronological feed on Instagram and Facebook, but now this will be an option for parents and guardians to establish as the default experience for their teenage children.

Moreover, Meta plans to introduce a default “Night Mode” that will prevent underage users from accessing, posting, or viewing content between midnight and 6 a.m. A Meta spokesperson informed TechCrunch that while notifications for teenagers are already muted during nighttime, this new setting will fully block them after midnight.

After every 15 minutes of continuous use on Facebook or Instagram, teenagers will receive prompts. This adds to existing notifications that users receive once their total daily usage reaches 60 minutes.

Meta also aims to prohibit underage users from using extreme makeup filters, building on its current restrictions against cosmetic surgery filters.

Additionally, the company will mute notifications by default during school hours, defined as 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. During this time, teenagers will not receive push notifications, except for direct messages and alerts related to account security or safety.

Another new feature will allow parents and teens to disable autoplay. Meta states that users will be required to perform a “deliberate action,” such as tapping or swiping, to access more content.

By default, like and reaction counts on posts will be hidden from underage users, whether these posts are their own or those of others. While teens previously had the option to hide these counts, they will now be automatically concealed.

Meta also announced that it is advancing its technology to identify users who may be between the ages of 13 and 17, even if they provide a birth date suggesting they are adults, to ensure they receive the appropriate protections.

The social media giant published an open letter inviting TikTok and YouTube to collaborate in creating an industry-wide commitment that includes implementing daily time limits, disabling app access at night, restricting notifications during school hours, and providing reminders after 15 minutes of usage.

The $18 billion settlement from Meta will be disbursed to the states over the span of 10 years, but 30% of that, approximately $5.3 billion, will only be released if TikTok and YouTube adopt the same limits.

“All platforms should empower parents and support teens by implementing the same measures, knowing that when teens face restrictions on one app, they often switch to another,” the company stated in a blog post.

Meta confirmed that it will continue to prevent teens from following or interacting with accounts considered age-inappropriate, automatically setting their accounts to private, and restricting contact from potentially suspicious adults.