Only 8 of 47 Safety Features Work for Instagram Teens

Independent reviewers from Reuters recently tested 47 different teen safety tools on Instagram—and the results were sobering. Out of all the features examined, only 8 worked as intended. The majority of protections were easily bypassed within minutes, exposing young users to risks the tools were supposed to block.

The investigation highlighted multiple weak points:

• Harmful search terms slipped through filters designed to block them.
• Bullying filters failed to catch slurs and coded harassment.
• Recommendation systems still suggested sexual, violent, or otherwise harmful content directly to teen accounts.

In short, safety guardrails advertised as protective often failed in real-world conditions.

Where Current Safety Measures Fall Short

Parents increasingly express frustration with protections that look strong on paper but do little in practice. Independent reviews revealed that:

• Adults could still reach and interact with teen profiles, despite policies suggesting stricter restrictions.
• Reporting tools for inappropriate content were slow to trigger removals, leaving harmful posts visible for extended periods.
• Several safety features were quietly altered or discontinued without clear public notice, creating confusion about which protections are active right now.

For families and advocates, the biggest gap is not the lack of features, but the lack of reliable, enforceable safeguards that work every day—not just in policy language.

Regulators Begin Turning Up the Pressure

These failures are drawing attention from global regulators, who are no longer content with marketing promises.

• The European Commission has opened formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to investigate whether Meta’s systems adequately protect minors.
• The UK’s Online Safety Act is moving from general codes of practice to enforcement guidance and timelines, signaling a shift from discussion to direct accountability.

This regulatory momentum shifts the debate away from feature lists and toward measurable risk reduction, including exposure rates, speed of removals, and independent verification.

A Case Study That Exposes the Gaps

A focused case study by Snoopreport adds further evidence of the problem. Their research found:

• Harmful content appeared on Reels and Explore pages within the first hour of new teen accounts being created.
• Adult strangers could still follow or attempt DMs via loopholes in “follow request” mechanics.
• Meta’s own 2025 enforcement reports revealed 135,000 child-targeting accounts removed in one year, underscoring the scale of predatory activity on the platform.

The conclusion was clear: default “Teen Account” settings are inconsistently applied and relatively easy to bypass. In practice, defaults do not equal safety. To rebuild trust, platforms would need to publish verifiable logs of what teens actually see in their feeds.

What Comes Next: From Promises to Proof

The path forward is both simple and difficult. Regulators, parents, and watchdogs are expected to demand:

• Public recommendation logs, showing exactly what content is being served to minors.
• Faster takedown service-level agreements (SLAs) for harmful content seen by underage users.
• Stricter default rules that block unsolicited adult-to-teen messaging unless explicitly invited.

In the future, platforms will be judged less by their product announcements and more by hard numbers—exposure rates, removal times, and transparency metrics that can be independently verified.

Expert Perspective

Commenting on the issue, Anatolii Ulitovskyi, founder of UNmiss.com, offered a direct recommendation:

“Lock adult DMs to invite only by default. If a platform cannot prove safer feeds with hard numbers, regulators should limit teen recommendations until it can.”

His advice reflects the growing industry consensus: trust must be earned with data, not slogans.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The findings referenced, including data from Reuters and Snoopreport, reflect independent case studies and reviews at the time of reporting. Instagram and Meta platforms may update their policies, features, or enforcement actions after publication. This article does not provide legal, regulatory, or parenting advice. Readers concerned about online safety for minors should consult official resources, platform guidelines, and trusted child-safety organizations for the most current information.