technology

Instagram rolls out parental controls across the platform in the UK

Date: June 16, 2022 Meghna Singh Meghna Singh
Instagram rolls out parental controls across the platform in the UK 
Instagram, the social media platform owned by the US tech giant Meta, has reportedly announced that it would be rolling out a new set of parental controls on the platform across the UK on Tuesday.



The feature involves the option to establish daily time limits for the app, ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours, after which the screen would turn black on the application.



Aside from scheduling break times, parents can check any profiles their children have reported as well as the reason behind it.



The tech firm is also introducing a parent dashboard on all Quest virtual reality headsets globally.



Earlier, the supervision features could only be used by the younger ones, but now parents can invite their kids to activate them.



The latest VR controls now enable parents to view their child's followers' lists, approve purchases, and block certain apps.



Another feature of Instagram being tested is a ‘nudge’ feature that tells teenagers to search for fresh topics if they keep finding the same thing.



These new Instagram features were unveiled in the US in March.



Even though there are younger kids using both platforms, Instagram is only meant for the younger age group of 13 and more, and Instagram’s parent firm claims that its Oculus VR material is also aimed at teens and above.



Back in 2021, Instagram chose to delay plans to create an Instagram platform for children under the age of 13 following severe global backlash.



Also in 2021, the Wall Street Journal stated that Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, conducted a study that revealed that teenagers blamed Instagram for elevated feelings of depression and anxiety. At the time, the company chose to keep the study a secret and not work towards mitigating what the results showed.



According to Instagram, the WSJ report concentrated on limited findings and painted the firm negatively.



Source credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61796149

About the author

View All Posts

Meghna Singh

An English Literature graduate, Meghna Singh ventured into the profession of content development to incorporate her knack for writing articles across verticals including technology, healthcare, business, and alike for News Origins and Newsorigins. She has also completed her MBA in Tourism and worked as a content creator in the field of product development.