Meta adds parental supervision tools to Messenger, Instagram

Social media giant Meta Platforms introduced new features across a few of its apps this week that provide parents the ability to keep better tabs on their teens’ online activities.

The Facebook parent company announced Tuesday parental supervision tools are now available for Messenger, allowing parents and guardians to see how much time their teen spends on the app, and review their teen’s contact list as well as their privacy and safety settings.

The new options also allow parents to view who can message their kid and who can view their stories on Messenger, but do not allow parents to read the actual messages. If a teen chooses, they can also allow their parents to be notified if they report someone on the app.

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Meta is also bolstering its parental supervision features on Instagram. Parents already had the ability to see which accounts their teen follows and who follows them, and now parents are able to see how many friends their kid has in common with those accounts.

Another added feature is that Instagram now sends a new notice to teens after they block another user that suggests they “add their parents to supervise their Instagram account as an extra layer of support,” Meta said in its announcement. 

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The company said that “Through this notice, we’re meeting teens at specific moments to remind them how they can benefit from parental guidance when it comes to navigating their online interactions.”

Meta said more new features are forthcoming, such as teens will soon receive notices encouraging them to limit how much time they are spending on Facebook after spending 20 minutes on the app. 

The company is also considering adding a similar nudge suggesting teens close down Instagram if they are scrolling the app at night.