In an attempt to help parents get more involved with their teen’s experiences on Instagram and keep the young users safe, Meta-owned Instagram on Thursday announced the rollout of its Parental Supervision Tools in India. The immensely popular photo-sharing platform is also introducing Family Center -- a new place for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from leading experts.


Meta launched Parental Supervision Controls and a Family Center in the US in March this year and it is now rolling it out to India. Meta has said that it has been working closely with experts, parents, guardians and young people from India, to understand the needs of parents and young people.


“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 allow 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," Natasha Jog, Head, Public Policy, Instagram, Facebook India (Meta), said in a statement.


According to the social media company, one of the biggest needs continues to be tools and resources to educate parents about digital services. This education would allow parents and guardians to help their teens manage their online experiences.


On Instagram, parents and guardians can send invitations to their young people to initiate Supervision Tools. Over the next few months, the company will roll out additional Supervision Tools and features in Family Centre. 


New supervision tools on Instagram


The Supervision Tools on Instagram are now available in India and will allow parents and guardians to to do the following:



  • Manage how much time their young people spend on Instagram -- Help young people manage their time on Instagram by setting screen time limits and scheduling breaks during the day and week.

  • View what accounts their young people follow and the accounts that follow their young people -- Allows them to stay up to date with who your young person connects with on Instagram.

  • Be notified when their young people reports someone -- Young people can choose to notify you if they make a report on Instagram, so they can discuss what happened together.