Meta is set to introduce major restrictions on how teenagers use Instagram and Facebook under a new agreement reached with a bipartisan group of US state attorneys general. The proposed measures are aimed at reducing excessive social media use and giving parents greater control over their children’s online activity. One of the biggest changes will be a default two hour daily time limit for users under 18. The limit will apply cumulatively across Instagram and Facebook, meaning time spent on both platforms will count toward the same two-hour allowance. Teenagers will only be able to override the restriction with parental permission. Meta also plans to introduce a Night Mode that will block teenagers from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. During these hours, under-18 users will not be able to view or post content such as Feed posts, Stories, Explore content or Reels.

Direct messaging will remain available under the agreement. The platforms will also introduce School Mode, which will mute most push notifications between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Direct messages and important account safety or security alerts will still be allowed during these hours. Teenagers will receive additional reminders about their usage as well. Meta says prompts will appear after every 15 minutes of continuous screen time, encouraging users to take breaks and use the platforms more intentionally. The agreement also proposes stronger parental supervision tools. Parents could receive information about their teenager’s usage, attempts to change protective settings and the linking of additional accounts. Meta will also continue using measures designed to restrict potentially suspicious adults from contacting or interacting with teenagers. Other changes include hiding like and reaction counts by default for under-18 users and restricting certain extreme makeup and cosmetic surgery related filters.

Teenagers will also be given greater access to non-personalised feeds that do not rely on Meta’s recommendation systems. However, these measures are not currently a worldwide restriction. Meta says the protections will automatically apply to under-18 users in participating US states and territories once the settlement receives judicial approval. The majority of the measures are expected to remain in place for 10 years. Meta has also called on TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar protections, arguing that teenagers move between multiple social media platforms. If other major platforms agree to the proposed framework, some restrictions could become even stricter, including reducing the daily limit and extending the overnight block. The agreement follows lawsuits brought by US states accusing Meta of contributing to harmful and addictive social media use among young people. Meta has denied wrongdoing, but the proposed settlement represents one of the most significant changes yet to how teenagers will access its platforms.