Meta has rolled out new safety measures on Instagram to protect Indian teenagers, one of its biggest user groups. The update introduces two significant changes in the Direct Messaging (DM) feature. Now, even if two users follow each other, teens will receive safety tips before chatting. These reminders encourage teens to verify profiles and be cautious about what they share.

Additionally, Instagram will now show the month and year an account was created-helping teens identify suspicious or fake users. Meta has also made it easier to report bad behavior: teens can now block and report a user in a single click, instead of separately.

For accounts run by adults on behalf of kids under 13-such as those managed by parents or talent agencies-Instagram is enforcing stricter default settings. These include tighter DM controls, offensive comment filters, and alert banners for safety reminders.

With India being a major Instagram market, these updates are expected to improve digital safety for its young users. Meta says any child found running their own account will face account deletion.