Meta has launched Teen Accounts on Instagram in Nigeria to enhance online safety for teenagers.
This initiative is aimed at ensuring safe, private, and positive online experiences for teens across Africa. As more Nigerian teens join Instagram, it is crucial to prioritise their safety and privacy.
“Teen Accounts were designed to better support parents and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place,” Meta said. “Teen Accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and the content they see, and we’ll automatically place teens in Nigeria into Teen Accounts, and teens under 16 will need a parent’s permission to change any of these settings to be less strict.”
“We are excited to bring these features to Nigeria and help families navigate online spaces safely. Teen Accounts are designed to give parents peace of mind, allowing teens to connect with friends and explore interests without worrying about unsafe experiences,” said Sylvia Musalagani, safety policy manager, Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET) at Meta.
Since Meta started reimagining its apps for teens with Teen Accounts globally in September 2024, Meta has enrolled 54 million teens into Teen Accounts on Instagram, with 97 percent of those aged 13–15 remaining within the strict default protective settings.
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“Meta’s new policy aligns with several core priorities outlined in NITDA’s strategic roadmap, particularly concerning data privacy and protection for minors, now under the purview of the Nigerian Data Protection Commission, and child online protection and digital well-being, which we have collaboratively addressed with our sister agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission,” Emmanuel Edet, director Regulations and Compliance Department, NITDA.
NITDA has been an advocate for child online protection through various initiatives, including national strategies and proposed legislation, such as the Online Harms Protection Bill, which addresses age verification and parental controls.
Meta stated that it understands that many parents want to take a more active role in their teens’ online experiences; hence, with the enhanced supervision tools, parents can see who their teen has interacted with.
While message content remains private, parents can now view a list of people their teen has messaged over the past seven days, set daily time limits on Instagram, and block access to Instagram during specific hours, like bedtime, with just a tap.
Parents can also see which age-appropriate interest areas their teen is choosing to follow and engage with.
“Teen Accounts are automatically set to see less sensitive content in search results and recommended content in Explore, Feed, and Reels,” Meta added. “Teens can only be tagged or mentioned by people they follow, and the strictest anti-bullying feature, Hidden Words, is enabled by default.”
