(NewsNation) — Meta is removing teenagers’ ability to receive messages from strangers on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta said in an announcement Thursday the changes are part of its ongoing efforts to provide “age-appropriate experiences for teens” across its social media apps.
“We’re announcing more steps to help protect teens from unwanted contact, and to make it simpler for parents to shape their teens’ online experiences,” the company said in a statement.
Under the new default settings, teens will not be able to receive messages on Instagram or Facebook Messenger from anyone they don’t follow or aren’t connected to. It applies to users under the age of 16, or 18 in certain countries.
Meta is also planning a feature designed to prevent teens from seeing unwanted images in their messages or from sending those types of images themselves.
The company is also beefing up its parental supervision features. Parents using supervision tools will be prompted to approve or deny their teens’ requests for privacy settings changes rather than just be notified of the change.
“As with all our parental supervision tools, this new feature is intended to help facilitate offline conversations between parents and their teens, as they navigate their online lives together and decide what’s best for them and their family,” Meta said.