Last Updated on March 17, 2022 by Anu Joy
Instagram has finally launched the Family Center hub to add more parental controls to the app, as promised last year. The hub has various supervision tools for parents to control the way their teens use the platform. The new tools are introduced to promote social media awareness among elders and ensure better safety for the youth on the platform.
Let’s take a closer look at the new supervision tools introduced by Instagram and find out how they work for parents of teenagers.
Instagram Adds More Parental Controls
In order to address the safety concerns of users in a better way, Instagram has launched the Family Center hub, which allows access to various supervision tools and resources from leading experts. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, confirmed the launch via a post on the Meta Blog. The new tools will start rolling out in Virtual Reality (VR) in May.
Also Read: Android Tablets Will Get Tablet-Optimised App Suggestions On Google Play Store
The VR parental supervision tools are designed for the Quest and will allow parents to exercise control over the type of content their teens access alongside keeping their login hours in check. Using the new tools, they can block the content they feel isn’t age-appropriate for their teenagers.
This is just one step on a longer path — our vision for Family Center is to eventually allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage experiences across Meta technologies, all from one central place.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram head.
The Instagram head further explains that the Family Center includes an education hub, which contains video tutorials on how to use the supervision tools. Parents can follow these videos to use the tools to their full potential. They can also access various articles on topics such as how to talk to teens about social media.
We worked closely with groups like Connect Safely and Net Family News to develop these resources, and we’ll continue to add new information to Family Center’s education hub.
New Supervision Tools On Instagram
Elaborating on the supervision tools, Adam said that they are available in the United States and will be rolled out globally in the coming months. The first set of parental supervision tools will allow parents and guardians to:
- View how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits.
- Be notified when their teen shares they’ve reported someone.
- View and receive updates on what accounts their teens follow and the accounts that follow their teens
For now, teens will need to initiate supervision via the app on mobile devices. Instagram will add the option for parents to start supervision on the desktop app in June. Parents will need their teens to approve their supervision requests to proceed with monitoring their online activities.
Instagram will add more features in the coming months to allow parents to limit the hours during which their teen can use Instagram, alongside the ability for more than one parent to supervise an account.
What do you think of the new supervision tools introduced by Instagram? Do let us know in the comments section below.
Discussion about this post