Facebook Defaults New Teen Accounts to ‘More Private’ Settings

Meta is updating its policies to help protect young people from “suspicious” adults online.

Following last year’s move to assign all new Instagram users under the age of 16 a private account, Meta is doing something similar on Facebook. “Starting today, everyone who is under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will be defaulted into more private settings when they join Facebook,” Meta says(Opens in a new window).

Teens who are already on Facebook will be encouraged to adopt stricter settings for:

• Who can see their friends list

• Who can see the people, Pages and lists they follow 

• Who can see posts they’re tagged in on their profile

• Reviewing posts they’re tagged in before the post appears on their profile

• Who is allowed to comment on their public posts

Meta considers someone “suspicious” if they’re an adult who was recently blocked or reported by a young person. “We’ve developed a number of tools so teens can let us know if something makes them feel uncomfortable while using our apps,” the company says, “and we’re introducing new notifications that encourage them to use these tools.”

Teenagers, for example, may see a pop-up prompting them to report an account after blocking it, or a safety notice with information on how to navigate inappropriate messages from adults. Look for alerts asking if you “know this person in real life,” and if not, advising on what to do if they make you feel unsafe.

The social media giant, meanwhile, is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), experts, academics, parents, and victim advocates to develop a global platform for teens worried about non-consensual sharing of intimate images online—also known as “sextortion.”

Meta also partnered with Thorn and its NoFiltr brand to create educational materials aimed at reducing the shame and stigma of intimate images, “and empower teens to seek help and take back control if they’ve shared them or are experiencing sextortion.”

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