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March 16, 2022

Andrew Campbell 

Meta Platforms Inc. announced the launch of a new set of tools on March 16th that will allow parents to limit the exposure time and use of their children's Instagram and VR accounts, giving parents and guardians more control over how their children use social media and virtual reality, and assisting parents and guardians in their child-rearing process.

For the first time on March 16th, Instagram began rolling out parental controls for its app. The first three Instagram parental-control features, which have been available in the United States and will be rolled out globally in the following months, allowing parents to monitor and set limits on how much time their teens spend on Instagram. Parents may see which accounts their children follow as well as who they follow. It can also alert their parents when they see or hear something they don't like. The capabilities will soon be available on the company's other platforms, such as Facebook.

In addition to the new Instagram controls, new parental options for Meta's Quest VR headsets, which will begin rolling out in April, will limit access to Quest headset content that is not appropriate for lower ages, such as barring minors from downloading age-inappropriate apps. Based on both parties' consent, it will also provide a Parent Dashboard with supervision capabilities linked to the teen's account.