Instagram rolls out 'parental supervision' in India

Instagram has announced the launch of its 'parental supervision' tools in India. 

 

Through the tools, Instagram wants to help parents get more involved in their teen’s experiences on the social media platform. The platform is also introducing a 'family center', a space for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from experts.

 

This follows Meta launching parental supervision controls and a family center in the USA, in March this year. 

 

The tools allow parents/guardians to manage how much time young people spend on Instagram, by setting screen time limits and scheduling breaks during the day and week. They also let them see the kind of accounts their children follow and the ones that follow them back. The tools also notify parents or guardians about children reporting someone, so that they can discuss the issue together.

 

On Instagram, parents and guardians can send invitations to their young people to initiate these tools. 

 

Natasha Jog, head, public policy, Instagram, Facebook India (Meta), said, "The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us at Meta. The supervision tools and the family center will add to our efforts on keeping young people safe. Our intention is to strike the right balance for young people's desire for some autonomy when using Instagram, but also allows for supervision in a way that supports conversations between parents and young people when it is helpful. We’re thankful to all our expert partners in this space, who’s insights we continuously draw from, including for our launches today.”

 

Meta will be working with Kidsstoppress.com, a discovery platform for parenting needs, to engage with parents and spread awareness of the tools. 

 

Mansi Zaveri, founder and CEO, Kidsstoppress.com, said, “Having a safe and enriching online experience is one of the top concerns parents continually have. We’re glad Instagram is rolling out these supervision tools in India, and we’re looking forward to partnering with them, so the parenting community in India is aware and equipped with these tools, and can initiate a conversation with their teen on it.”