Instagram automatically places accounts of users under 16 to private

Instagram will soon automatically set accounts of people under the age of 16 to private. With this, Facebook wants to guarantee a ‘safer’ online experience for young people. Advertisers will soon be able to target ads to people under 18 via only three parameters.

With the measure, which is aimed at users under the age of 16, parent company Facebook wants to make it more difficult for ‘suspicious accounts’ to find and contact young people. Suspicious accounts are accounts that were “recently blocked or reported by a young user,” according to Facebook. The option to make the account public remains available. The measure will first take effect in the United States, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and Japan. It is not clear when it will be the turn of the rest of the world.

From now on, advertisers will also be subject to restrictions. Soon they will only be able to advertise specifically to young people under the age of eighteen based on three parameters: their age, gender and location. Targeted advertising via their activity on other websites or apps will then no longer be possible. This measure will be rolled out worldwide in the coming weeks and will be in effect on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.