KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Instagram has expanded its Teen Accounts safety features in Malaysia by introducing an age-appropriate 13+ content setting and enhanced parental controls for users under 18.
Meta said teenagers under 18 will automatically be placed into the updated 13+ content setting, which limits exposure to potentially inappropriate material and cannot be changed without parental permission.
The update is designed to ensure teens view content comparable to what is typically allowed in films rated suitable for those aged 13 and above.
“Teens may occasionally encounter suggestive content or strong language similar to such films on Instagram, but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” it said in a statement today.
Meta’s central Southeast Asia and Asean public policy director Clara Koh said the initiative underscores the company’s commitment to online safety for younger users.
The updated Teen Accounts also introduce a stricter “Limited Content” option, enabling parents to further restrict what their children can view on the platform.
These enhanced safeguards align with familiar movie-rating standards and incorporate feedback from parents.
“In addition to our longstanding policies, which already hide or prohibit the recommendation of sexually suggestive content, graphic or disturbing images, and adult content like tobacco or alcohol sales from teens, our updated policies will now go even further.
“This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviours, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia,” Meta said.
It added that improvements have been made to its technology to better identify and limit access to age-appropriate content across the platform.
With the new measures, teens will no longer be able to follow accounts that regularly share age-inappropriate content, while such accounts will also be restricted from interacting with teen users.
Additionally, search functions have been strengthened to block a broader range of sensitive topics or mature terms, like suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, alcohol, or gore.
Teens will also be prevented from accessing restricted content through recommendations, feeds, stories, or direct messages.
The rollout of the updated features has begun gradually and is expected to be fully implemented in Malaysia over the coming month.
