Meta’s social media app Instagram has announced the launch of a number of new safety features designed above all to encourage teenage users to temporarily switch off from the service and their parents to keep a tab on the time they spend on it. The new tools were outlined in a blog post by Instagram head Adam Mosseri ahead of his appearance before a Senate subcommittee investigating the app's impact on the mental wellbeing of teenagers.
The first feature, dubbed ‘Take a Break’, will ask users to spend some time away from the platform after they've been scrolling for some time. It will also suggest they set reminders to take more breaks in the future and provide expert-backed tips to help them “reflect and reset”, said Mosseri, adding that early test results show that once teens set the reminders, more than 90 percent of them keep them on.
The feature has been launched in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ahead of a global rollout by early next year. Another new tool to be made available in January will allow users to manage their digital footprint by bulk deleting earlier photos and videos, as well as previous likes and comments. Meta is also working on a new experience that will nudge users towards other topics if they’ve been dwelling on one topic for a while.
Finally, in March the company is planning to launch a suite of tools aimed at giving parents and guardians better visibility into their teenagers’ use of Instagram. This includes being able to view how much time teens spend on the app and to set time limits. Teenage users will also be able to notify their parents if they report someone for breaching the app’s rules.
