To best protect your children from the dangers of social networks, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger have a Parental Supervision function, which allows you to monitor their online activities.
Faced with the attractiveness of social networks, you can very quickly find yourself totally overwhelmed by your children’s digital wanderings. Addiction, people with bad intentions, violent or sexual content, cyberharassment… So many dangers that await your offspring on the Internet and from which you would like to be able to protect them. Because who knows what’s really going on behind the bright screen of a smartphone or computer? Fortunately, there is a function called Parental Supervision which allows you to monitor the activities of your dear little one on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, the three services of the Meta group. It offers a range of tools allowing you to manage the time spent on applications and keep an eye on your virtual interactions.
To set up Parental Guidance on Instagram, go to your account settings, then tap Parental Guidance in the pop-up window. Send an invitation to your child, who must then accept it. Please note, only one parent can supervise a minor’s account. On Facebook and Messenger, the principle is the same, but the function is still being deployed, so you may have to wait a little before seeing the option appear.
The Parental Supervision feature lets you track your teens’ activity on Instagram and Messenger. Thanks to it, you can see the time they spend on the applications, the accounts they have added – in contact on messaging or followed account on the photography social network –, who can view their stories or send them messages (just their friends, friends of their friends, or no one), how they set their privacy settings (is their account private?), and whether they report other users.
Please note, you will not be able to read the content of the messages they send and receive, only monitor the points mentioned and receive notifications in the event of a change in these parameters. A great way to stay informed and start a conversation if necessary!
On Instagram, Parental Guidance lets you see how many mutual friends your kids have with the accounts they block, while also sending them a notification so they can discuss it with you. But Meta has also put in place other tools to protect the youngest. For example, Instagram displays safety reminders when adults who have exhibited potentially suspicious behavior message teens, and unfollowers must first send a single invitation before they can interact with them. Time management tools on Instagram and Facebook also allow notifications to appear when they exceed 20 minutes per day on the application, inviting them to take a break.