Key facts
- Meta is expanding its Instagram school partnership program with new tools for schools and students.
- Nearly 17,000 schools have joined the program to date.
- Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion over 10 years to resolve claims that its platforms are designed to addict children.
- Verified students in participating schools will gain access to new features like a directory of clubs and teams, and school-specific announcements.
- Meta is introducing new Channels and Notes features for verified schools to communicate with students and parents.
- A study found only eight of 47 tested Instagram teen safety features were fully effective, with internal documents suggesting Meta was aware of shortcomings.
Meta is enhancing its Instagram school partnership program by adding new features for students and schools, as the social media company faces increased scrutiny over its impact on young users. The expansion comes after Meta agreed in August to a settlement of up to $18 billion over 10 years to resolve claims that its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, were designed to addict children.
Nearly 17,000 schools have joined the program to date. Meta is creating a new centralized hub for school-related accounts and introducing features like a directory of clubs and teams, school-specific stories, and announcement notes for verified students. Additionally, new Channels and Notes features will allow verified schools to communicate with students, parents, and the wider school community.
This initiative follows the introduction of Instagram's Teen Accounts in September 2024, which include built-in safeguards limiting who can contact teens, the content they see, and their app usage time. According to Meta, 97% of teens aged 13-15 kept the default settings, and 94% of parents found these accounts helpful. These Teen Accounts are also being rolled out to Facebook and Messenger globally.
However, a study reported by child-safety advocacy groups and corroborated by researchers at Northeastern University found that only eight out of 47 tested Instagram safety features were fully effective, with internal documents suggesting Meta was aware of some shortcomings. Critics also questioned the robustness of time management tools and argued that some protections place the burden on teens. Meta stated that the report misrepresents its efforts and that teens using these protections experienced less sensitive content, unwanted contact, and less nighttime usage.