Meta has expanded its age-restricted content settings for teenage users globally across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, bringing protections previously available only in four English-speaking markets to teens worldwide as the company faces mounting legal and regulatory pressure over child safety.
The global expansion builds on an update introduced in October 2025 for Instagram Teen Accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, which defaulted teens into a new 13+ content setting. Meta reported that nine out of 10 teens have remained in that setting since its launch.
Under the expanded settings, teen accounts automatically filter content deemed inappropriate for younger users, including material related to violence, sexual themes and self-harm, and a stricter “Limited Content” option will be introduced on Facebook and Messenger later this year.
Meta is also testing ways to restrict teens from seeing too many posts about certain topics that may be helpful in small doses but could become harmful when shown repeatedly, including content about nutrition, weightlifting and coping with anxiety.
The update arrives amid intensifying scrutiny of social media platforms’ impact on young users. Meta warned investors in April that legal and regulatory risks in the European Union and the United States over issues linked to youth social media use could impact its financial results. A Los Angeles jury recently found Meta and Google negligent for designing platforms deemed harmful to young users and awarded damages to a plaintiff who alleged social media addiction from childhood.
“The updated 13+ setting is designed to help make sure teens are seeing age-appropriate content, so we’re excited to make the setting the default for more teens around the world,” Meta said.
