“Parental Guidance” Becomes the New Default on Instagram for Under-18s

The concept of “Parental Guidance” is moving from the cinema to the social media feed, as Instagram makes a PG-13 style experience the new default for all its users under the age of 18. This significant policy shift aims to give parents more intuitive and powerful controls.
The core of the change is the automatic application of a “13+” setting to all teen accounts. This creates a baseline of protection that is active from the start. Any move away from this safer environment will require the explicit consent of a parent, ensuring they are central to the decision-making process.
Under this “Parental Guidance” model, content with strong language, risky stunts, and promotions of harmful activities will be hidden or its reach to teens will be limited. The platform will also proactively block searches for terms deemed inappropriate for this age group, such as “gore” or “alcohol.”
This move is a direct answer to calls for more robust, built-in safety features, following a report that found many of Instagram’s optional tools were failing to protect children. The new system is designed to be a more systemic solution to a complex problem.
While the feature is set to launch in key markets before going global, safety advocates are treating the announcement with caution. They argue that the effectiveness of this new guidance must be proven through transparent and independent analysis, not just taken on trust.