Adult Instagram users can no longer just DM teens
Adults using Instagram can no longer just privately message all teens. These teens must follow an adult first. Instagram will also warn teenagers if adults display ‘suspicious behavior’ on the platform.
By teens, Instagram means users who are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Users must be at least thirteen years old before using the platform. Instagram says it wants to protect users against unwanted contact from adults. When an adult tries to private message a teen who doesn’t follow the adult, the adult will be notified that direct messaging will fail until the teen follows the adult.
In addition, teenagers will soon receive notifications when adults exhibit ‘suspicious behaviour’. For example, it could be adults who send a lot of friend or message requests to teenagers. Teens will then receive a warning within the private messages in which they can, for example, block or report the adult. Instagram also tells that the teen should not feel obliged to respond and should be careful about sharing information, photos and videos.
This alert feature should be available this month in ‘some countries’. Instagram is also working on ways to make it harder for adults who exhibit suspicious behavior to find teens. The platform mentions as an example that it is becoming more difficult for these adults to find teenagers in ‘recommended users’, or that they are less likely to see their content. In addition, Instagram is thinking of automatically hiding the reactions of suspicious adults under posts by teenagers.
Instagram does note that the new policy won’t work for all teens. Users are now required to enter their age when creating an account, although the platform does not have an easy way to verify this age. That is why the platform is working on artificial intelligence and machine learning to better estimate the ages of users. For example, the platform wants to ensure that teenagers who pretended to be adults when registering are also protected on the platform.