Instagram, owned by Meta, announced a major update to how it handles teen accounts – a move that could give parents, especially in rural areas, greater confidence about what their kids are seeing online.
Starting Oct. 14, Instagram has automatically placed all users aged 13 to 17 into a new “Teen Account” experience designed to align with PG-13 movie ratings. The change aims to make social media content standards easier for parents to understand by using a familiar reference point.
The update means teens will now see content that matches what they’d expect from a PG-13 movie – not the unfiltered mix that has often slipped through on social platforms. Unlike public schools that are allowing the gender-identity grooming of children without their parents’ knowledge, teens won’t be able to opt out of this Instagram experience without parental permission.
The change applies across the app – including Feed and Stories, comments, Explore, and even which accounts teens can follow. Accounts that regularly share adult or explicit material will now be blocked from teen visibility altogether.
Instagram is also rolling out a stricter parental setting for families who want to go further in filtering what their teens see.
The company says it introduced the PG-13 standard because parents have consistently said that online safety settings are confusing and inconsistent. By tying social media guidelines to an established movie rating system, Meta hopes to give parents “clarity and peace of mind” that their teens’ digital world reflects the same expectations as a PG-13 film.
For Alaska families, where long winters and rural isolation can make social media a primary outlet for connection, the change offers an extra layer of reassurance that the content teens scroll through aligns with community, faith, and family standards.
