What Instagram's new 'teen accounts' mean for your brand

Instagram's got no problem keeping teens on its platform. But it looks like they're finally taking the criticism they've been getting seriously.

Last week, we talked about a massive coalition of US attorneys general pushing the government to slap a mental health warning across social media platforms.

Now faced with the threat of a cigarette pack-style warning label, Insta's announced some big changes to how under-18 users engage with content (and are kept a safe distance from it, too).

So what's about to happen?

In essence, all under-18 users will be given heavy privacy settings by default. These settings will allow them to only message and interact with followers. Reels served to minors will also go through Insta's 'most restrictive setting’ for controlling sensitive content.

The app will also nudge young users to leave the app after 60 minutes each day. At night, Instagram will enter 'sleep mode' automatically. This will mute overnight notifications between 10pm and 7am.

The platform also plans to introduce a range of parental controls. Under-16s will now need a parent's permission to loosen restrictions. However, 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to adjust their privacy settings on their own.

From now on, new under-18 users will automatically obtain Teen Accounts. Teens already on the app will have their accounts transitioned starting this week.

Insta says these changes will roll out in the next 60 days across the US, UK, Canada, Australia and in the EU.

This will hurt my engagement, won't it?

Listen, you might think we're about to tell you how to dodge filters and game social media to your advantage. But at YAP, we're dead serious about mental health, especially that of younger and more easily influenced users.

So, we're not going to help you to break the system - we're going to help you work with it.

Better sleep, less screen time and less toxic content is obviously a good thing for everyone. But even Insta's own CEO Adam Mosseri admits the changes will hurt their bottom line and user engagement across the board.

So, if your audience is almost entirely adults, you don't need to do anything.

But if even a slice of your crowd are adolescents, it's worth pondering how your content could be affecting their mental state.

If so, you may need to make adjustments to stay visible to them.

Let's also not forget, teens may end up using Insta much less after these changes - only time will tell. So make sure your content is rich, engaging and made for a niche audience.

That way, your core followers will be more likely to use their limited time to prioritise your content. And they'll feel their time was better spent as they put their phones down for the day!

-Devin, Copywriter

Catch our full take on the YAP Podcast about Instagram’s Teen Accounts