In a significant step towards enhancing online safety for teenagers, Meta has announced the launch of Teen Accounts on Instagram in Nigeria.
This initiative is part of Meta’s broader commitment to ensuring safe, private, and positive online experiences for teens across Africa.
As more Nigerian teens join Instagram, it is crucial to prioritise their safety and privacy. Parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests, without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences.
Teen Accounts were designed to better support parents and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place.
Teen Accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and the content they see, and we’ll automatically place teens in Nigeria into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.
Key protections offered with Teen Accounts include:
- Private Accounts: Teen accounts are set to private by default and teens under 16 can only change this setting with parental guidance.
- Messaging Restrictions: Teens can only receive messages from people they are already connected to.
- Sensitive Content Control: Teen Accounts are automatically set to see less sensitive content in search results and recommended content in Explore, Feed and Reels.
- Limited Interactions: Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and the strictest anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, is enabled by default.
- Time Limit Reminders: Notifications prompt teens to exit the app after 60 minutes of daily usage.
- Sleep Mode: Enabled from 10 PM to 7 AM, this feature mutes notifications and sends automatic replies to DMs overnight.
“We’re excited to bring these features to Nigeria and help families navigate online spaces safely. Teen Accounts are designed to give parents peace of mind, allowing teens to connect with friends and explore interests without worrying about unsafe experiences,” said Sylvia Musalagani, Safety Policy Manager, Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET) at Meta.
Since Meta started reimagining its apps for teens with Teen Accounts globally in September 2024, Meta has enrolled 54 million teens into Teen Accounts on Instagram, with 97% of those aged 13–15 remaining within the strict default protective settings.
While Teen Accounts come with built‑in safety protections, Meta understands many parents want to take a more active role in their teens’ online experiences. With the enhanced supervision tools, parents can:
- See who their teen has interacted with: While message content remains private, parents can now view a list of people their teen has messaged over the past seven days.
- Set daily time limits on Instagram: Parents can decide how long their teen can spend on the app each day. Once the limit is reached, Instagram will be inaccessible for the rest of the day.
- Schedule downtime from Instagram: Parents can block access to Instagram during specific hours, like bedtime, with just a tap.
- View the topics their teen is exploring: Parents can see which age-appropriate interest areas their teen is choosing to follow and engage with.
“Meta’s new policy aligns with several core priorities outlined in NITDA’s strategic roadmap, particularly concerning data privacy and protection for minors, now under the purview of the Nigerian Data Protection Commission, and child online protection and digital well-being, which we have collaboratively addressed with our sister agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission. NITDA has been a strong advocate for child online protection through various initiatives, including national strategies and proposed legislation, such as the Online Harms Protection Bill, which addresses age verification and parental controls. This policy reinforces the need for age-appropriate online experiences and promotes digital well-being.” commented, Mr. Emmanuel Edet – director Regulations and Compliance Department, NITDA.
To mark the launch, Meta hosted an exclusive event where parents, content creators, policy stakeholders, media and teens could engage on the available safety features and tools.
Meta remains committed to developing tools, resources and partnerships that protect teens and foster safer online experiences for families in Nigeria.
