Parents' Guide to

Instagram

By Liz Panarelli, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

All-in-one social app for sharing, shopping, and scrolling.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Free Photo & Video
Instagram Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 183 parent reviews

Joe Ferguson
Joe Ferguson Adult
May 3, 2020
age 12+

Instagram for strict parents

I have 2 kids, a daughter whos 14 and a son whos 16. I remember having a conversation with my oldest when he was about 11. He was saying all his friends had it and all that. I did some of my own research and told him that he needed to be 12. . There were going to be some rules though, his Mom I and would follow his account. We did not want him to waste a lot of time on it. Instagram does make time fly, we didnt want him to be a pariah but we wanted him to not waste too much time on it. He has a screen time limit of 2 hrs a day; Instagram/Gaming/Youtube/Netflix are all mixed in this. Normally we wouldn't care how he split the time, but gaming has benefits to the brain while Instagram does not. The maximum amount he could ever spend on it was 35 minutes. And we checked every week. He did go over it sometimes so we had to reinforce the rules and suspend it once in a while. He is now 16 and still follows the rules. As parents we tend to underestimate kids, if you clearly state rules and punishments, they will follow. With my daughter I was worried about creeps. I was worried about the bad people getting to communicate with her. I let her get Instagram for her 14th birthday, we had very strict rules for her. She could follow only her friends and celebs. NO STRANGERS. Strangers could follow her because teens want followers but, she could only follow her friends. We made it clear to her that if someone started flirting with her over Instagram, and she didnt know them, it was not ok. We wanted her not to be scared of us forcing her to delete it so that was not an option. What I've learned from friends children is that if you do not let your child use it, they will use it on their own terms ignoring you. That opens many bad doors, its better to let them know that we are allowing them, not that they are doing it themselves. After all, how long can parents control their kid. Instagram is a double sided sword. Used wisely it can be a good tool. Used unwisely, could lead to problems. As parents that's where we come in, don't be afraid to take their phone without warning and check it. Before giving them Instagram lay out the rules. My rules are; 1. Strangers can follow, but no conversations with them. 2. Parents follow the account to see what stuff they post. 3. Strict time limit of 35. 4.Parents can search phone if wished. 5. It can be suspended until further notice as punishment. PS: I have found that Instagram is much safer than Facebook and SnapChat.
joanmomomof6
joanmomomof6 Parent of 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17-year-old
September 12, 2022
age 10+

Instagram is great for artists! And is much less explicit that tik tok, it all depends on what your searching up

Yep, this app is actually a nice app for sharing art and getting positive feedback, never have a once got any mean comments or anything like that. Yes the internet tends to have nudity and swearing, but the things you scroll through are only people you follow, so unless you follow someone bad it won’t happen, also if you VERY worried about that stuff, than stay away from the search section, and delete direct messages from strangers, also you can make your account private, I HAtE When kids act like they are adults on here when they ARE Children! That needs to be stopped. But overall I’d let my teen have this over the WAY more explicit tik Tok. Thanks for reading! ❤️
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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

Users can view popular photos and videos shared by other users on INSTAGRAM. Teens who register and log in to the site also can share their own photos and videos, which can be seconds long or as long as 60 minutes. They can also livestream video, which will disappear after the stream ends, or share private photos that will disappear. Instagram offers a number of filters to alter photos; you can modify the lighting, contrast, and color with preset effects, then add a caption, share the photo, and, if desired, also share it on other social networks. Photos and videos are public by default, but you can choose to make your posts private in settings. Other features include a Reels option to create short 15-second videos with visual effects and music clips, and Remix, which other users can utilize to add to them.

Similar to Snapchat, Instagram offers "Stories," where users can post a series of photos or videos strung together; these last only 24 hours. Users can remove followers, turn off comments, and like others' comments in the app. The term "Finsta" applies to accounts that kids use under made-up names, where they share content they want to share only with certain people. Finsta accounts are sometimes also used to post racier content and bully people.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (183 ):
Kids say (470 ):

This social network offers cool photo effects powerfully combined with the social seduction of Facebook, the popularity filter of Reddit, the hashtag and follower sharing models of Twitter, the music-based videos of TikTok, and the curse and blessing of commentary on YouTube -- and that's just within the app. Instagram makes your photos and videos look stylish, and then makes it easy to share them instantly, across multiple platforms, allowing you to broadcast how #awesome your life is right now. The competition for cool can get a little tiresome -- the comments are full of users seeking followers -- and as with any huge social app, the experience can be an enormous mixed bag with a dark underbelly.

It's admirable that you can create notifications to remind you of how much time you've spent on the app each day, and in December 2021, Instagram announced it would be introducing new parental controls in the U.S., which it planned to subsequently add globally. Those features are a different move for the social media platform. In mid-June, Instagram announced additional controls for parents would also be released. Parents can now receive updates to let them know the users their child follows -- and is followed by -- and they can get a notification if their child reports another user. Parents can also set usage limits for their child for certain days of the week or even times of day. The additional features that were announced in June include the ability for parents to ask their child to approve them being able to use the supervision tools. Previously, teens had to initiate that process within the Instagram app, which may not have been ideal for some parents because it left them to wait for their child to take action. At least initially checking and possibly changing some of your privacy settings when you register can be a good idea. When you're active in the app, for example, a green status dot is visible next to your name -- which your friends and other acquaintances could view as you being available to chat at times when you're actually not. That feature can be disabled in the app's Activity Status setting, though.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about being smart about what and how they share on Instagram and online in general. We have some great tips on safety and being a good digital citizen.

  • Discuss online advertising and shopping. How do you know that something is an ad? What about when your favorite Insta star says a product is good? Is shopping from within the app OK?

  • Talk about using features responsibly. Is it OK to livestream? How can you use the polling stickers in a fun way that won't hurt any feelings?

  • Talk about the music used in Reels and apps like TikTok. What are the family's rules around music? What about dancing in videos?

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
  • Subjects: Arts : photography
  • Skills: Creativity : producing new content, Communication : conveying messages effectively, friendship building, multiple forms of expression, Tech Skills : digital creation, social media
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Release date: April 21, 2012
  • Category: Photo & Video
  • Publisher: Instagram, Inc.
  • Version: 2.4.0
  • Minimum software requirements: IOS 3.1.2 or later; Android 2.2 and up
  • Last updated: January 23, 2019

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