Meta Expands Teen Safety Features to Facebook and Messenger

• Apr 08, 2025

Meta is rolling out its Teen Accounts safety system to Facebook and Messenger, aiming to create a more secure experience for users under 18. This follows the initial launch of Teen Accounts on Instagram in September, which Meta says has helped transform how young people use the platform.

The Teen Accounts system automatically places teenagers into stricter privacy and safety settings. For users aged 13 to 15, these settings cannot be changed unless a parent or guardian is added to the account. Parental permission is also required for younger teens to live stream or disable image protections in direct messages. Those aged 16 to 18 can adjust some settings, but the system still promotes a more controlled environment by default.

Meta says that so far, more than 54 million teens worldwide have been moved into Teen Accounts since the program began. It also reports that 97% of users aged 13 to 15 have kept the default restrictions in place.

The expansion begins this week in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, as Meta continues to respond to growing calls for stronger online protections for children and teens. In countries like the UK, tech companies are also facing legal requirements under the Online Safety Act to prevent young users from being exposed to harmful or illegal content.

However, some campaigners remain skeptical about how effective these changes really are. Andy Burrows, CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation, questioned whether Teen Accounts truly prevent exposure to harmful content. “We’ve heard nothing from Meta about whether this is actually working,” he said, adding that parents still don’t know if the settings stop platforms from recommending inappropriate material to teens.

Others, like Drew Benvie of social media consultancy Battenhall, praised the move as a positive step. “Big social is finally competing to be the safest platform, not just the most engaging,” he noted. Still, he warned that teens often find ways to bypass safety features.

Meta’s system depends heavily on users entering their correct age. To tackle fake age entries, the company has started using tools like video selfies and AI to detect when someone might be lying about their age in order to avoid restrictions.

Notifications about the new Teen Account setup will begin appearing in-app for Facebook and Messenger users under 18.