Meta said on the 18th that it will expand a notification feature to help parents promptly identify and support warning signs related to suicide and self-harm among teens.
The feature applies to parents and teen users on Instagram who have set up supervision for teen accounts. If a child repeatedly searches, in a short period of time, for phrases that encourage suicide or self-harm or expressions indicating self-harm intent, a notification about the child's safety is sent to the parent.
Parents who receive a notification are informed that related searches were repeated and are provided with information on professional counseling organizations and expert guidelines to consult when discussing sensitive topics with their child. Meta said it introduced the feature so parents can quickly recognize and support teens when they show signs of needing help.
Instagram has already been blocking search results related to suicide and self-harm and has been directing users who search for related content to resources and counseling services. The added feature of alerting parents to repeated search attempts is intended to ensure that protections on the platform lead to real parental support.
Standards to protect teens from content related to suicide and self-harm also apply. Content that promotes or glorifies suicide or self-harm is banned under community policies, while content in which individuals share related struggles or recovery experiences is allowed but restricted from being shown to teens.
In addition, Meta by default applies age-based protections to the overall app environment for teen users—such as content, contacts, and time spent—through the "Instagram teen account."
For users ages 14 through 18, protections for teen accounts are automatically applied, limiting who can contact them and the content they see. When daily use reaches 60 minutes, a notification prompts closing the app, and a restricted-use mode that blocks notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. is also applied automatically. Users ages 14–16 need parental permission to relax these protections.