Instagram is rolling out new safety features aimed at protecting teens, including tools that allow parents to control their kids’ interactions with the platform’s AI characters, parent company Meta announced Friday. The updates are part of broader efforts by Meta and OpenAI to address concerns about the impact of AI on young people’s mental health.
Parents will be able to either block their teen’s access to AI chats entirely or restrict access to specific AI characters. Additionally, the platform will provide parents with information about the topics their teens discuss with these AI personas. Meta plans to start rolling out the controls early next year.
The move comes amid growing scrutiny of tech companies for not doing enough to safeguard children online. Reports have highlighted cases where teens relied on AI for emotional support, sometimes leading to isolation or emotional distress. Lawsuits have also been filed against Character.AI and OpenAI, alleging their platforms contributed to self-harm or suicide in minors. A Wall Street Journal investigation earlier this year found that Meta’s AI chatbot, along with others, sometimes engaged in inappropriate sexual conversations, even with accounts flagged as underage.
Meta emphasized that its AI characters are “designed not to engage” with teens on topics like self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating. Teens will also only be able to chat with characters focused on safer content such as education and sports.
These parental controls build on recent updates from Instagram, including PG-13 adjustments to teen accounts to avoid posts with strong language or content that could encourage harmful behaviors. Similarly, OpenAI recently introduced parental controls for ChatGPT to limit exposure to graphic content, extreme beauty standards, sexual or violent roleplay, and risky online challenges.
