On September 17, Meta announced the rollout of Instagram Teen Accounts, which “have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and what content they can see,” Meta shared in a blog post. The sweeping update automatically places teens into Teen Accounts, with those under 16 requiring parental permission to change privacy and restriction settings.

Meta was clear about the reasoning behind the app’s major update, citing parental concerns that teens would encounter “unsafe or inappropriate experiences” while scrolling through content on Instagram. “We built Teen Accounts with parents and teens in mind. The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ top concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing, and whether their time is being spent wisely,” the blog post read.

“Everyone under 18, including creators, is being added to teen accounts,” Naomi Gleit, Meta’s chief product officer, told NBC News. “They can remain public if their parent is involved and gives permission and oversight of the account. But these are pretty big changes that we have to get right.”

Meta has gotten “a lot of feedback from parents, mainly on a couple of things,” Gleit said. “First, it can be simpler and easier to use, and that’s one of the goals of this launch,” she said. “Second, there are some inconsistencies in the current settings that we have. … And then the third thing is we just want to have more control and tools to help their teen online.”

But beyond parents’ fears, many have focused in recent years on the impact of social media on teens’ mental health. In 2021, a whistleblower and a trove of leaked documents revealed that Facebook (which had by then changed its name to Meta, the company that owns Instagram) knew about the negative impact its app was having on teens’ mental health.

While there’s still a lot to be seen in how these changes will actually work and how effective they will be in protecting young people’s privacy online, for now the proposed changes appear to be comprehensive for both teens and parents. So what’s in the update and how will these Teen Accounts actually work? Here’s everything you need to know:

The Basics of Teen Instagram Accounts

Instagram Teen Accounts are set to private by default, and teen users must accept new followers individually. As with the normal private account setting, people who don’t follow you won’t be able to see your content or interact with you. Teens under 16 will need parental permission to change this privacy setting. This comes with “strictest message settings,” which restrict messages from people you follow or have a mutual relationship with.

While the new accounts offer the ability to influence your algorithm by directly choosing what you want to see more of, they also have the most restrictive control over sensitive content. Meta notes that all sensitive content will be restricted on the Explore page and in Reels, including things like “content that depicts people fighting or promotes cosmetic surgery.” And because we all get lost in doom scrolling, the app will remind you to log out after 60 minutes each day so you can go outside and touch some grass. Between 10pm and 7am, notifications will be muted and your DMs will get auto-replies.

Do I have to adhere to these rules?

If you’re under 16, yes, unless your parent opts you out. Instagram users under 16 need parental permission to use less protective settings, according to Meta, which requires them to set up an Instagram parental controls account. Once that account is active, parents can approve or deny your request to change those settings. If you’re 16 or older, your parent can still set up a supervised account, but it’s not necessary to change some of these restrictions.