Instagram Launches Family Center, its Hub of Parental Supervision Tools

Instagram has made good on its promise to add more parental controls to its app with the launch of Family Center, a hub where parents can access supervision controls and resources from experts.

Instagram faced harsh criticism last year over its failure to keep its users safe along with how toxic the platform was for young girls. The company promised it would address the issue and has launched Family Center as part of that promise.

In a post on the Meta Blog, Instagram head Adam Mosseri describes Family Center as a new place for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from leading experts. These tools are launching today for Instagram and will begin rolling out in Virtual Reality (VR) in May.

The VR parental supervision tools are designed for the Quest and will allow parents to prevent teens from accessing content that they feel isn’t age-appropriate. In May, Meta will start automatically blocking teens from downloading IARC rated age-inappropriate apps and will launch the Parent Dashboard that will host a suite of supervision tools that will link to the teen’s account based on consent from both sides.

Mosseri says Instagram worked with experts, parents, guardians, and teens to develop the hub as a location where parents can oversee their teens’ accounts. There they can set up and use the provided tools and access resources on how to talk to their teens about their use of the internet.

“This is just one step on a longer path — our vision for Family Center is to eventually allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage experiences across Meta technologies, all from one central place,” Mosseri says.

Education Hub

Family Center includes what Mosseri describes as an education hub for parents and guardians. Here, they can access resources from experts and review articles on topics like how to talk to teens about social media. The Family Hub also contains video tutorials on how to use the supervision tools that can be found in the hub.

“We worked closely with groups like Connect Safely and Net Family News to develop these resources, and we’ll continue to add new information to Family Center’s education hub,” Mosseri says.

Supervision Tools

The meat of the Family Hub lies in its supervision tools. They are available today in the United States and will be rolling out globally in the coming months. The tools allow parents to view how much time a teen spends on Instagram and set limits, be notified when their teen shares that they have reported someone, and view and receive updates on what accounts their teens follow and accounts that follow their teens.

“As always, we appreciate the input from experts who help us deepen our understanding of this area, so we can continue protecting teens, supporting families and preserving all the good that young people derive from the internet,” Mosseri concludes.