Zuckerberg Allows Parents To Track Their Kids’ Instagram Activities: But How This Supervision Will Work?

Meta is introducing new “parental supervision” features for its social media app Instagram and also virtual reality. The update will first be rolled out to Instagram, which faced a wave of scepticism because of its impact on teens and children, with new parental controls coming to Quest headsets over the upcoming months.

New features 

On Instagram, the controls are a part of the new “Family Center,” where parents can set time limits and access information about their teen’s activity on the app. For now, parents will be able access the list of accounts their teen is following, as well as the accounts that follow their teens. Parents will also be notified when their teen reports a user.

Limited usability of features as of now

A notable fact is that the update is only available in the United States for now and parents will only be able to access the parental control features if the teens “initiate supervision” within the app themselves. Teens will need to first approve any parental requests for parental supervision. “Over the next few months we’ll add additional features, including letting parents set the hours during which their teen can use Instagram, and the ability for more than one parent to supervise a teen’s account,” wrote Instagram Head Adam Mosseri in a blog post.

Why are these new features introduced? 

The information about these new features was first divulged back in December, after Instagram had to “pause” work on a devoted app for kids younger than 13 years after a whistleblower disclosed internal research detailing Instagram’s impact on teens’ mental health. The disclosed information impelled lawmakers to push Meta to end work on Instagram Kids entirely. As of right now, Meta executives have not agreed to do so.

Virtual reality headsets 

Mosseri said the company is also planning to add similar parental control features to its Quest headsets so parents can set limits on their children’s activities in virtual reality. Those features won’t be rolled out for a few more months. The features will let parents to restrict VR content rated for ages 13 and older and set limits on VR purchases. Meta has also been working on a “Parent Dashboard” for its Oculus app so parents can be aware about what their children are watching and how much time they are spending in VR.

Source-https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-rolls-out-parental-supervision-tools-instagram-2022-03-16/?utm_campaign=fullarticle&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=inshorts