Instagram strengthens teen safety and regulates the use of AI
By Léna Jauze
November 17, 2025
Meta announces two updates for Instagram accounts belonging to teenagers:
- Content control inspired by the PG-13 rating (equivalent to a general-audience film for teens).
- New parental supervision tools related to artificial intelligence.
These measures aim to protect teenagers while reassuring parents, in a context where digital uses evolve rapidly.
Content aligned with the “PG-13” standard
Since October 2025, Instagram teen accounts are automatically configured based on a PG-13 logic. In the United States, the PG-13 rating (“Parental Guidance – 13”) is used by the Motion Picture Association to indicate that a film may contain some scenes or expressions not recommended for children under 13, but remains generally appropriate for a young audience.
By relying on this standard familiar to parents, Meta says it aims to create on Instagram a safe, moderated and educational digital environment, without completely preventing teenagers from being exposed to a realistic online world. Young users will therefore encounter moderated — but not entirely sanitized — content. Posts containing coarse language, dangerous behaviors, or references to alcohol, drugs or sexuality will now be hidden or not recommended.
Teenagers will no longer be able to follow accounts deemed inappropriate, nor see their posts or comments. In addition, certain sensitive searches — such as those related to violence or substance use — will be blocked, even if the teen intentionally misspells the term to bypass safeguards.
A new “Limited Content” mode for families
For parents seeking stricter control, Meta is launching a “Limited Content” mode that further reduces teens’ exposure to certain topics and removes public interactions (comments, replies, etc.). The company consulted several thousand parents worldwide to refine its moderation criteria and improve the relevance of its filters.
The updates also concern interactions between teenagers and AI. According to Meta, parents will be able to:
- Completely disable conversations between their child and AI characters (virtual avatars created using artificial intelligence and 3D to interact with users).
- Block specific AI characters.
- View the themes of conversations between the teen and the AI, without access to the content itself.
These tools are intended to help families support teens in their digital learning while preserving their autonomy.
Stronger technical safeguards
The AIs integrated into Instagram must also follow PG-13 criteria: they avoid sensitive topics (suicide, eating disorders, sexuality) and favor educational, cultural or sports-related exchanges. Parents can also limit overall app usage time to 15 minutes per day, including AI interactions. Meta says it uses age-detection technology to enforce these protections, even if the teen lies about their birthdate.
Criticism over Meta’s transparency
Some experts point out, however, that the PG-13 classification used by Meta is not officially connected to the Motion Picture Association. The precise filtering and evaluation criteria remain internal and unpublished, raising questions about the real effectiveness of the system.
These new rules are first being deployed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, before a global rollout planned for 2026.