How to Set Up Instagram Parental Control? Is Instagram Safe for Kids?

There’s no doubt that the younger generation uses Instagram for hours and even interacts with strangers if they want. This raises a concern among the parents and makes them wonder if there’s an Instagram parental control or not.

Fortunately, Meta provides the option of Family Center, from which you can simply monitor your child’s activity on the app and ensure their safety.

Apart from that, you can simply change a few settings that may give the same outcome. That said, let’s find out how you can do that.

My nephew just joined instagram and wrote “parental control” as his bio. 😅

— ☕️ over flowers (@5mininuvimakana) February 9, 2021

Quick Read: Instagram has a built-in parental control feature called Supervision. It allows you to see the accounts followed, total time spent, posts/accounts reported, set daily limits, and more.

How to Set Up Instagram Parental Control?

When it comes to Instagram parental controls, you just have to enable the Supervised Account. It connects your Insta account to your child’s, and you’ll be able to monitor their activities on the platform. Moreover, as it’s one of the new features for Instagram, ensure that your app is updated.

Then, follow these steps to activate Supervision:

• Open and log in to the Instagram app using your username, email, or phone number and password. 

  

• Tap the profile icon present at the bottom right.

  

• Then, tap the hamburger menu.

  

• Scroll down and tap Supervision under the “For families” section.

  

• Go through the list of perks and tap Get started.

  

• Now, you’ll have to “invite your teen” for supervision. Just type their username and proceed further by tapping Invite.

  

Your teen will have 48 hours to respond to your invite. Once your child accepts the invite, you can supervise their account with ease.

What Does Instagram Supervision Feature Allow You to Do?

As one of the effective parental controls Instagram, the Supervision allows you to:

• Set daily limits for using the Insta app.
• Schedule daily breaks to stop continuous usage.
• See how much time is spent on scrolling (total, average, and per day)
• See the accounts followed by your teen and which accounts are following them.
• Get a notification each time a new follower is added.
• See what posts/accounts have been reported and why they were reported.

As you’ll be able to closely monitor the child’s activity, you’ll surely be able to keep them away from all types of potential dangers.

How to Set Up Instagram Parental Controls With Privacy Settings?

Apart from using Supervision, you can still add safety to your child’s Instagram usage via the privacy settings. In this case, the app will not show parental control, but you must have the ID and password to make the changes.

That said, let’s take a look at the few measures you can take.

• Set the Instagram Account to Private – Setting your kid’s Instagram account to “Private” means, their posted content will only be seen by the accepted followers. To do so:

Turn on the toggle for Private account and you’re all set.

• Remove Annoying Followers – You can remove any of the unwanted followers from your child’s IG account. Just go to the Follower’s list, tap the three-dot menu, and then tap on Remove.

• Set a Daily Time Limit Reminder – If you observe the young ones are spending too much time on IG, you can set a reminder to tell you that the app is being used for too long. To set the limit:

• Hide Offensive Comments – Not all IG users are friendly, so it is possible to get some offensive comments on any post. To avoid this, open Settings & privacy >> Hidden words. Then, turn on the toggle to Hide comments.
• Share Stories With Close Friends – To add privacy when sharing stories, it is better to share them with close friends. Go to Settings >> Account >> Close Friend List and your story will only be visible to a few selected people.
• Restrict Story Replies – If the account is public or private, it is possible to receive replies to the stories set. You can even restrict that to your child’s account, by following these steps:

• Block and Report Annoying Accounts – You can even block any suspicious or annoying accounts. Open the user’s profile, tap the three-dot menu, and choose Block from the list of options. Moreover, it is better to Report such accounts to provide information about their actions to Instagram.

• Disable or Delete the Account – The final option you have is to deactivate or delete the account of your child. To do so:
• Limit DMs – It is better to avoid messages from strangers and you can simply do that by limiting DMs. Just go to Privacy >> Messages >> Others on Instagram >> Don’t Receive Requests.
• Switch to Quiet Mode – Children using IG can switch to Quiet Mode during school hours and when they need to focus on something essential. Quiet mode mutes notifications, changes the profile’s activity status, and even sends an auto-reply if a message is received.

So, by making such changes, you can keep your teen’s IG profile safe and secure from potential hackers and suspicious accounts.

How Safe is Instagram for Children?

Instagram is an image-based application, and young minds get so obsessed with it that they start seeking external validation. Scrolling too much can negatively impact their life as they start to aspire to a living they probably can’t afford.

Moreover, every account is prone to hacking, phishing scams, cyberbullying, and other online threats despite several safety measures being taken.

For example, a woman lost her £1,200 to an Instagram scam after she purchased some clothes from a fraud website. She came across a fake advert showing some great deals and ordered some items. Unfortunately, they never delivered. Source: The Guardian.

Instagram & Facebook Roll Out New Safety Updates for Teens
As you already know users can opt to see less “sensitive content” on Instagram and FB’s algorithm. Now, according to the latest update, the apps will hide sensitive content even if it has been posted by friends or creators.
Source: The Washington Post

5 Essential Tips for Parents and Guardians to Make Instagram Safer

Being a responsible parent, you can simply support your teenager in creating a safe, positive, and balanced IG experience. These tips will surely help you out:

• Establish Rules – You must have some essential discussions with your child to set the rules for using social media. For example, set a daily time until which they can use IG and then go to sleep. 

• Don’t Assume the Worst – Social media platforms may have a few complications and dangers for children but expecting the worst will never help in creating rules. So, don’t just assume the worst, and learn the pros and cons of how social media impacts the daily lives of children first. 

• Keep it Balanced – Using apps like IG keeps your children entertained and even helps in gaining information. So, instead of completely getting rid of social media from your child’s life, focus on creating a balance.

• Discuss Threats and Strategies – It is better to discuss all possible threats on IG including cyberbullying and phishing scams. Then, help your children stay safe by discussing the strategies mentioned in this blog.
• Be a Role Model – There’s no point in putting restrictions on social media usage if you are using it beyond the limits. If you need to set an example for your kids and make them follow the rules, you need to limit your usage first.

Final Words: Is Instagram Good or Bad for Teens?

Instagram is mostly used for endless and mindless scrolling. Kids can use it for their social life, but you can’t deny the fact that they’re also prone to many potential dangers. 

With the rising cases of scams, online harassment, and cyberbullying, parental control is a much-needed initiative to be taken by a responsible parent. 

Gaurav Rathore