Meta brings ‘teen accounts’ to Facebook and Messenger

Meta is bringing its “teen accounts” to Facebook and Messenger. Like on Instagram, the company will begin automatically moving younger teens to the new accounts, which come with mandatory parental control features and restrictions on who they can message and interact with.

The company first introduced the feature on Instagram last fall and now has 54 million teens with the more locked-down accounts. (Instagram requires teens between the ages of 13 and 15 to use a teen account and has in-app tools meant to catch those lying about their ages.) Teen accounts on Facebook and Messenger will operate similarly. Teens won’t be able to interact with unknown contacts or change certain privacy settings unless a parent approves the action. Parents will also be able to monitor their child’s screen time metrics and friends list.