Meta agreed to implement a series of teen safety protections on Instagram and Facebook as part of a settlement with a group of US state attorneys general. The settlement, reached with 51 states and territories, addresses allegations that the platforms were designed to be addictive for children. It requires Meta to modify platform features for users under 18 for at least ten years, except in New Mexico where litigation continues and Florida where a state law bans users under 14 from creating accounts.

Meta must provide a non‑personalized feed option that can be set as the default for teen accounts, with reminders and parental controls. The company will develop or adopt an age‑assurance system to identify users under 13 or aged 13‑17, apply restrictions, and allow appeals, with data‑minimization and independent audit requirements.

A daily cumulative time limit of two hours will apply to Instagram and Facebook usage for teens, unless parents disable it; usage of videos longer than 22 minutes, messaging, and settings are exempt, and the limit resets each day at midnight. Teens will receive prompts at 15‑minute intervals while scrolling, and after 60 and 90 minutes, to discourage excessive use; parents may adjust these prompts.

Access to Facebook and Instagram will be blocked from midnight to 6 a.m. for teens, except for messaging and account settings, with parental overrides possible. Push notifications will be muted for teens between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., except for direct messages and security alerts, unless parents change the setting. An option to disable autoplay will be offered, requiring manual taps to view content.

The number of likes and reactions on teen posts will be hidden by default, and the feature will be hidden on other posts as well. Access to extreme makeup filters will be restricted; other filters that do not alter appearance beyond ordinary makeup remain permitted. Meta will keep private‑by‑default accounts for teens, block potentially suspicious adults from messaging them, and maintain existing content filters for nudity, sexual content, strong language, and risky stunts.

Meta has pledged to pay $17.1 billion to the states over ten years, contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable measures, and has called on those platforms to make similar changes.