Instagram parental controls

Follow these step by step instructions to set up privacy settings on Instagram

Watch an introduction to Instagram

Facebook had a lot of questions asked about its privacy policy and how it uses people’s data in 2018. Because of that, they’ve introduced better privacy controls for their users, allowing them to manage what apps have access to their data and who see their posts.

NOTE: Facebook is a “free” app, but even though you don’t have to pay for it with money, your likes, comments, private messages and even the content of your photos are all recorded so that Facebook can better advertise to you.

Step by step instructions

Step 1

By default, all Instagrams accounts are set to public, which means that anyone can view your profile or posts. Setting your child’s account to private means only their followers (which are mostly friends) can see them. You can do this by tapping on the profile picture on the bottom menu, then on the three dots in the top right, scroll down to where it says Private Account.
Step 2

Not all followers are appreciated, so you can remove any followers that you don’t want seeing your child’s Instagram posts by opening their profile page, tapping on Followers and then tap on the three dots next to the follower you want to remove.
Step 3

Instagram comments can be great or can turn nasty, you can choose to block offensive comments by tapping on the three dots on the profile page, tapping on Comment Controls and turn on Hide Offensive Comments. Instagram uses programs to search for offensive comments, so this won’t work 100% of the times, but it’s getting better and better.
Step 4

Unfollowing a user means that your child won’t see that users posts any more. People that you unfollow won’t be notified that you’ve unfollowed them, which helps to avoid confrontation. To unfollow tap on the followers section and then tap on the Following button that will then change to Follow when you stop following that person.
Step 5

You can turn off commenting for a specific post by tapping on the post, tap on the three dots in the top right and then choose Turn Off Commenting.
Step 6

You can change the settings to make sure that only private messages can be sent as a reply to a story, these are public and therefore less prone to nasty comments. Open the profile page, tap on the three dots in the top right and choose Story controls.
Step 7

Your child can block a user or report a user that’s being inappropriate. Open the user’s profile that you want to block or report, tap on the three dots in the top right and select either Block or Report.
Step 8

If your child is worried about a friend because of a post, they can report one of their posts. Open the post, tap on the 3 dots in the top right, select It’s inappropriate and then choose Self Injury.
Step 9

Lastly, anyone should have control over their data and how it’s used. Instagram gives you two options here, either temporarily disable your account or delete it permanently.