Instagram Teen Accounts (2024)
Under pressure from lawsuits and lawmakers over youth mental health, Meta placed all users under 18 on Instagram into 'Teen Accounts' with stricter default settings and parental oversight. The rollout moved millions of teenagers into a limited experience without asking them to opt in.
Meta was praised for the defaults but criticized because teens could still misstate their age to escape them.
Age-gated 'teen' tiers became the standard playbook for consumer tech facing child-safety scrutiny.
OpenAI's teen experience copies the same move: automatic enrollment into a safer default, with age checks as the weak point critics will probe.
