Quick answer: you have to be at least 13 to use Instagram or Facebook in most places. Every user under 18 is placed in a Teen Account automatically: private by default, messages only from people they follow, a 13+ content filter, and sleep mode from 10 PM to 7 AM. Teens aged 13 to 15 can’t loosen those settings without a parent’s permission. To get the real Instagram parental controls, you need to set up supervision in Meta’s Family Center. It lets you set time limits and see who your teen follows and has messaged, but you can’t read their messages, and your teen can end supervision at any time. You’ll be notified if they do.
Part of our Kids’ Online Safety guides: phones, watches, games and apps.
Table of Contents
Key Findings
- 13 is the minimum age under Instagram’s and Facebook’s terms. Instagram’s help center lists exceptions: 14 in Florida, South Korea, Spain and Quebec, and 16 in Australia.
- Teen Accounts are automatic for users under 18. Meta reported at least 54 million active Teen Accounts and said 97% of teens aged 13 to 15 kept the default restrictions.
- The 13+ content setting is the default since October 2025. Meta first called it PG-13, but later said it didn’t work with the movie ratings body (the MPA) and now calls it “13+”.
- Supervision needs your teen’s agreement. Either side can send the invite, and either side can end it.
- Messages stay private. Parents can see who their teen chatted with in the last 7 days, but not what they said.
How Old Do You Have to Be to Have Instagram or Facebook?
Instagram’s Terms of Use say you must be “at least 13 years old or the minimum legal age in your country.” Facebook’s Terms of Service say you can’t use Facebook if you’re under 13. The age of 13 comes from US privacy law: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires parental consent before sites collect personal information from children under 13.
| App | Minimum age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 13 (14 in Florida, South Korea, Spain and Quebec; 16 in Australia) | Under-18s get a Teen Account | |
| 13 | Teen Accounts since April 2025 in the US, UK, Australia and Canada | |
| Messenger | 13 | Teen Accounts since April 2025 |
| Messenger Kids | Under 13, set up by a parent | Meta launched it for ages 6 to 12 |
What if a child lies about their age? Meta says it uses information from a teen’s original account to stop them creating a new account with an adult birthday. It also says it blocks teens from linking their account to an adult-age account. If your child under 13 has an account, you can report it with Instagram’s underage account form. Instagram says it will delete the account if it can’t verify it’s managed by someone old enough.
What Instagram Teen Accounts Do Automatically
According to Instagram and Meta’s April 2025 announcement, these protections turn on automatically for every user under 18:
| Protection | What it does |
|---|---|
| Private account | Only approved followers see your teen’s posts |
| Messaging limits | Only people your teen follows or is already connected to can message them |
| Tags and mentions | Limited to people your teen follows |
| Hidden Words | The strictest filter hides offensive comments and message requests |
| Nudity protection | Images with suspected nudity are blurred in DMs |
| Time reminder | A reminder to leave Instagram after 60 minutes a day |
| Sleep mode | From 10 PM to 7 AM: notifications muted and auto-replies on |
| Going Live | Teens under 16 need a parent’s permission |
The key rule: teens aged 13 to 15 “cannot change these settings to be less strict without a parent’s permission,” Instagram says. Teens aged 16 and 17 can change most settings themselves, unless they’re supervised.
The 13+ Content Setting (Once Called PG-13)
In October 2025, Meta moved every teen into a stricter content setting, first described as guided by PG-13 movie ratings. In an April 2026 update, Meta said it “didn’t work with the MPA” and now calls it a “13+” setting. There are three levels:
| Setting | Who picks it | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 13+ (default) | Automatic for all teens | Hides or doesn’t recommend posts with strong language, risky stunts and similar content; blocks searches like “alcohol” and “gore”; teens can’t follow accounts that regularly share mature content |
| Limited Content | A parent, through supervision | Filters even more content and removes comments: teens can’t see, leave or receive them |
| More Content | Needs a parent’s permission | The extra filters on Live, Comments and Search no longer apply |
Meta says 9 in 10 teens have stayed in the 13+ setting since the change. It also admits “no system is perfect.” In June 2026, Meta said the 13+ setting is expanding globally on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.
How to Set Up Instagram Parental Controls, Step by Step
Supervision is how Instagram parental controls actually work. Your teen must be 13 to 17, you must be over 18, and you both have to agree. These steps are from Instagram’s help center (iPhone app):
- Follow your teen on Instagram. You must follow them to send an invite. They don’t need to follow you back.
- Open your profile, then tap the Menu icon in the top right.
- Under “For families,” tap Supervision, then tap Create invite.
- Review the screen and tap Continue, then choose to find your teen on Instagram or send them a link.
- Your teen accepts the invite. Invites expire after 7 days, so create a new one if needed. Your teen can also send you the invite instead.
- Set limits from the supervision dashboard: a daily time limit, sleep mode hours and who can message your teen.
On a computer: click More, then Settings, then Supervision, then Create invite, and copy the invite link to send to your teen. One teen can have only one supervising parent, and one parent can supervise up to five accounts.
What Parents Can and Can’t See
| Parents CAN | Parents CAN’T |
|---|---|
| See daily and weekly time spent | Read your teen’s messages |
| Set daily time limits and sleep mode | Stop your teen from ending supervision (you get notified instead) |
| See who your teen follows, who follows them and who they block | Supervise without your teen agreeing |
| See who your teen messaged in the last 7 days | See a second account you don’t know about |
| Get alerts if your teen repeatedly searches suicide or self-harm terms | |
| See when your teen reports an account, if they choose to share it |
Our read: Meta’s tools are built to respect teen privacy, so they show patterns, not content. If you need alerts about the content of messages, that takes a third-party monitoring app, and those come with their own privacy trade-offs. For most families, the defaults plus supervision and an open conversation cover the basics.
Facebook, Messenger and Messenger Kids
- Facebook: Teen Accounts arrived in April 2025. With supervision, Meta’s Family Center says parents can see which groups their teen joins, help manage privacy settings and friend requests, and manage who can contact them.
- Messenger: parents can see their teen’s contact list and recent interactions, “but not the content of private messages.”
- Messenger Kids: a separate app for children under 13. According to Meta, parents set up the account, manage contacts and review activity. There are no ads and no in-app purchases, and Meta doesn’t move the account to Facebook when the child turns 13.
Why This Matters: What the Court Cases Said
These tools didn’t appear by chance. In 2026, Meta lost two kids’ safety trials and agreed to a proposed settlement with 51 attorneys general that promises stronger age checks and new default limits for teens. We explain each case in plain English in our Meta lawsuit guide. Until those promises take effect, the settings in this guide are what’s actually on your teen’s phone today.
An Age-by-Age Guide for Parents
| Age | Our suggestion |
|---|---|
| Under 13 | No Instagram or Facebook account. If they want to message family, Messenger Kids is the Meta option built for this age. A tablet with parental controls is a gentler start. |
| 13 to 15 | Keep the Teen Account defaults, set up supervision, and consider Limited Content. They can’t loosen settings without you. |
| 16 to 17 | Teens can change most settings themselves, so supervision only works with their agreement. Agree on rules together. |
Lock down the device too: see how to set up parental controls on iPhone, PS5, Xbox and Switch parental controls and the best tablets for kids. Worried about Meta’s AI app? Read is Meta Muse safe.
How We Did This
- We read Instagram’s Terms of Use, Facebook’s Terms of Service and Instagram’s help center pages on age rules and supervision on October 17, 2026.
- We read Meta’s newsroom posts on Teen Accounts from April 2025, April 2026 and June 2026, and Meta’s Family Center pages.
- Numbers such as 54 million Teen Accounts and 9 in 10 teens staying in 13+ come from Meta itself and haven’t been independently verified.
- We did not test these settings on a real teen’s account. Meta changes its tools often, so check the app for the latest options.
Use this data: journalists and bloggers are welcome to use the tables. Please credit PrimeDigger and link to this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can parents read their teen’s Instagram messages?
No. Meta’s supervision tools show who your teen has chatted with in the last 7 days, but not what they said. Meta says parents see insights like time spent and contact lists, “but not message content.”
How old do you have to be to have Instagram?
At least 13 in most places, under Instagram’s Terms of Use. Some regions set a higher age: Instagram’s help center lists 14 for Florida, South Korea, Spain and Quebec, and 16 for Australia.
Can my teen turn off supervision?
Yes. Supervision needs both the parent and the teen to agree, and either one can remove it at any time. If your teen removes it, you get a notification right away.
How do I turn off a Teen Account on Instagram?
Teens can’t simply switch it off. Teens aged 13 to 15 need a parent’s permission, through supervision, to make Teen Account settings less strict. Choosing the “More Content” setting needs a parent’s permission at any age under 18.
What happens if my child under 13 has an Instagram account?
You can report it with Instagram’s underage account form. Instagram says it will delete the account if it can’t verify that it’s managed by someone old enough. You can also help your child delete it themselves.
Is there a version of Messenger for kids?
Yes. Messenger Kids is a separate app that a parent sets up from their own Facebook account. Parents manage the contact list, there are no ads, and Meta says it doesn’t move the account to Facebook when the child turns 13.
Sources
- Instagram: Terms of Use
- Meta: Facebook Terms of Service
- Instagram Help Center: Report a user under the minimum age
- Instagram: Teen Accounts
- Meta (April 2025): New built-in restrictions for Instagram Teen Accounts, expanding to Facebook and Messenger
- Meta (April 2026): Instagram expands Teen Accounts inspired by 13+ content ratings
- Meta (June 2026): 13+ content settings expanding globally
- Instagram Help Center: Set up teen supervision
- Meta Family Center: Supervision
- Meta (2020): Privacy Matters, Messenger Kids
- FTC: Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)
