INSTAGRAM
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MINIMUM AGE: 13+
WHAT IS IT? Post pictures and videos and use hashtags to share experiences, thoughts or memories. Follow your friends, family, and celebrities. Instagram allows live streaming and stories, as well as direct messaging. WHAT WE SAY: Treat with caution 🔞 Exposure to Inappropriate ContentEven with content filters, children can still encounter sexually suggestive posts, violent imagery, harmful trends, or pro-anorexia/self-harm content. The “Explore” and “Reels” sections are algorithm-driven, meaning young users can be quickly drawn into dangerous or addictive content rabbit holes. 🔐 Privacy Concerns Instagram encourages sharing and visibility. By default, accounts are public unless changed to private, and users are prompted to connect with contacts or sync phone numbers, making it easy to be found. Children may accidentally overshare personal details, such as school names, locations, or routines. 📢 Lack of Accountability Fake accounts (also known as “finstas” or burner profiles) are common. These allow users to post or message anonymously or without consequences, leading to bullying, trolling, and harassment. 📍Location Sharing Instagram allows users to tag their location in posts, Stories, and Reels. This can expose real-time whereabouts and frequent locations like home, school, or clubs — even to strangers. Children may unintentionally reveal patterns or personal details that could be misused. Even with a private account, location tags are clickable and can link to public posts from the same place. 📱 Cyberbullying and Peer Pressure Instagram is a high-pressure environment, driven by likes, followers, and appearance. Young people may feel judged or excluded, and comment sections, DMs, and Stories can be used to target individuals. Harassment can also occur through polls, anonymous Q&A tools, or being left out of tag chains. 🚨 Sexual Harassment & GroomingInstagram DMs are a common route for predators to make contact. Even with private accounts, users may still receive message requests. Groomers may pose as peers, build trust, and then escalate to inappropriate messages or image requests — often moving conversations to apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Snapchat. 🧑💻 Online Predators & Inappropriate ContactInstagram's location tagging, hashtag discovery, and shared interests can help strangers find and message young users. Even if a child blocks a user, they can easily be contacted again via new or fake accounts. 🚨 Scams, Bots & Harmful TrendsFake giveaways, phishing attempts, crypto scams, and impersonation are widespread. Children may also be exposed to harmful viral challenges or body image filters that promote unrealistic beauty standards. ⚠️Instagram Has Age Restrictions — But They’re Easy to Bypass The official age limit is 13, but children can sign up with false birth dates. Many under-13s use the app without parental knowledge. |
SAFETY TIPS:
📲Understand the app: Familiarise yourself with Secret Calculators features and how they work. Knowing how the app works will help you guide your child effectively. 🔍 Parental Controls: Use Instagrams parental guide help.instagram.com/154475974694511/?helpref=hc_fnav 👨👧Parental supervision: Check their interactions and adjust privacy settings accordingly. Try to stay up-to-date on Internet trends and best practices. 📢Underage Accounts: Instagram might have an age restriction but it lacks a proper age verification process. Therefore, there’s little stopping users from faking their dates of birth or creating bogus profiles and targetting children and young people. 👥Manage friend requests: Teach your child only to accept friend requests from people they know in real life. 📷 Cover the Webcam When Not in Use Physically cover your camera when you're not ready to go live. Always be mindful of what’s visible in your background—it can reveal location clues. 🧠 Trust Your Instincts If something feels uncomfortable, it is uncomfortable. Leave the chat immediately and don’t engage with users who seem suspicious, aggressive, or inappropriate. 🖥️ Place Devices in Shared Spaces Keep internet-connected devices in living rooms or kitchens, not bedrooms. This makes risky behavior less likely and easier to notice. 🙋♀️Conversations: Have open discussions with children and young people about the topics associated with online use - bullying, grooming, sexual and criminal exploitation, body image, as well as accessing support and how to report. 🚨 Know the Signs of Trouble Watch for behaviour changes—like anxiety, secrecy, mood swings, or suddenly deleting apps. These can signal something inappropriate happened online. 💬Conversations: Have open discussions with children and young people about the topics associated with online use - bullying, grooming, sexual and criminal exploitation, body image, as well as accessing support and how to report. FURTHER SUPPORT: For parents/ carers If you're worried about your child or need support call NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. If you discover criminal content when online then report it directly to the police or the Internet Watch Foundation. If you're worried about online grooming or sexual behaviour online then report directly to the police or contact CEOP. For Children & young people if they're worried or want to talk, encourage them to contact Childline Online or call 0800 1111. Check out our Resource Centre for further information and useful online safety tips. 
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