TL;DR
If you only have two minutes before the soccer carpool starts, here’s the 2025 reality: Social media companies are finally being forced to move away from "opt-in" safety and toward "default-on" protection. The biggest update is Instagram's Teen Accounts, which automatically places users under 18 into the strictest privacy settings.
The 3-Step Action Plan:
Ask our chatbot for a step-by-step walkthrough of Instagram's new Teen Accounts
Privacy settings used to be a game of Whac-A-Mole. You’d find the "Private Account" button, click it, and hope for the best. But in 2026, the landscape has shifted. We are moving toward a "walled garden" approach for minors. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are under immense legal pressure to protect kids by default.
This is good news for us. It means you aren't just relying on a "Block" button anymore. You’re looking at DM guardrails (who can even send a message request), sensitive content filters (limiting the "brain rot" or "thirst trap" videos in the feed), and sleep modes that shut the app down at 10 PM.
We often talk about privacy in terms of "stranger danger," and while that’s real, it’s not the only reason to dive into settings. In 2026, privacy is also about Digital Wellness.
- Data Privacy: How much of your kid’s behavior is being fed into an AI model?
- Social Pressure: Settings that hide "Like" counts can significantly lower the "Ohio" (weird/cringe) anxiety kids feel about their social standing.
- The "Receipts" Culture: Privacy settings help prevent every mistake a 13-year-old makes from becoming a permanent, public record.
Instagram recently rolled out Teen Accounts, and honestly, it’s one of the few times a tech giant didn't just give us lip service. If your child is under 16, their account is now private by default. They can’t change it to public without your explicit permission via Parental Supervision.
Key Settings to Check:
- Hidden Words: This is a game-changer. You can add specific words or emojis to a list, and Instagram will filter out any comments or DMs containing them.
- Messaging Restrictions: Teens can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to. No more random "Hey" from accounts with zero followers and a crypto profile pic.
- Sleep Mode: Automatically turns off notifications and sends auto-replies to DMs from 10 PM to 7 AM.
TikTok is the king of the "For You Page" algorithm, which is both its best feature and its biggest privacy nightmare. If you haven't linked your account to theirs via Family Pairing, you're flying blind.
Key Settings to Check:
- Family Pairing: This allows you to set a screen time limit, filter out videos with certain hashtags, and—most importantly—decide who can DM your child (or turn DMs off entirely).
- Suggest Account to Others: Turn this off. It prevents TikTok from showing your child's profile to their phone contacts or Facebook friends, which helps keep their digital life separate from their "real life" if they want it that way.
- Download Video: Turn this off so other users can't download your kid's videos and repost them elsewhere.
Snapchat remains the trickiest app for parents because of its ephemeral nature. The biggest risk here isn't what they're saying, but where they are.
Key Settings to Check:
- Ghost Mode: This is non-negotiable. The Snap Map is surprisingly precise. Ghost Mode ensures their location isn't visible to anyone.
- My AI: Snapchat’s built-in AI bot can be creepy. You can now unpin or clear the AI’s data in the settings. It’s worth a conversation about why they shouldn't tell a chatbot their deepest secrets.
- Contact Me: Set this to "Friends" only. "Friends of Friends" is a slippery slope to "I don't actually know this person but we have one mutual."
Privacy doesn't stop at the big social grids. If your kids are on Roblox or Discord, the privacy stakes are arguably higher because the "social" aspect is often unmoderated or peer-to-peer.
Roblox isn't just a game; it's a massive social network. In late 2024, they updated their systems to allow parents to manage their child's account from their own device.
- Communication: You can restrict chat to "Friends" or turn it off entirely.
- Spending Limits: Privacy also means protecting your credit card. Set a monthly spend limit so you don't wake up to $500 in Robux charges. Learn more about Roblox parental controls
Discord is where the "Skibidi Toilet" memes live, but it's also where a lot of grooming happens in private servers.
- Safe Direct Messaging: Set this to "Keep Me Safe." It scans and deletes DMs that contain explicit content.
- Friend Requests: Set this to "Server Members" or "Friends of Friends" only to avoid random bot spam.
Elementary School (Ages 6-10)
At this age, the best privacy setting is not being on social media. If they are using "kids" versions of apps like YouTube Kids or Messenger Kids, you should still be the one holding the device.
- Focus on: Explaining that the internet is "forever" and that "private" doesn't mean "secret."
- Action: Use Family Link or Apple Screen Time to lock down the ability to even download apps.
Middle School (Ages 11-13)
This is the "Wild West" phase. This is when the "Ohio" jokes turn into actual social maneuvering.
- Focus on: The "Close Friends" list. Teach them that they don't have to share everything with all 200 of their followers.
- Action: Sit down together and go through the Privacy Checkup features that most apps now offer. Make it a collaborative "audit" rather than a "search and seizure."
High School (Ages 14-18)
By now, they know the settings better than you do. The focus here shifts from "locking down" to "reputation management."
- Focus on: Third-party app permissions. High schoolers often link their social accounts to "Who's my secret admirer?" apps or "AI Profile Picture" generators. These are notorious for data leaks.
- Action: Review the "Apps and Websites" section in their settings and revoke access to anything they don't use daily.
If you come at this as "I need to check your privacy settings because I don't trust you," the door will slam shut.
Try this: "Hey, I saw that Instagram changed how teen accounts work. I want to make sure your settings didn't get messed up so you don't get a bunch of spam DMs from weirdos. Let's look at it for five minutes."
Focus on the annoyance factor of bad privacy—spam, bots, and unwanted "brain rot" content—rather than just the "safety" factor. Kids care about their user experience; we care about their safety. Both are solved by the same settings.
Check out our guide on having the "Social Media Talk"
Privacy settings in 2026 are more robust than ever, but they aren't a "set it and forget it" solution. Apps update, terms of service change, and new "must-have" features (like AI integration) often reset your preferences to the least-private version.
The goal isn't to build a digital fortress that your kid can't see out of. The goal is to give them a "digital backyard"—a space where they can be social, be a little weird, and learn the ropes without the entire world watching.
- Do a "Phone Audit" this Sunday. Spend 10 minutes looking at the settings of the top 3 apps they use.
- Check the "Location Services" in the main phone settings (iOS or Android) to see which apps are tracking them 24/7.
- Ask them: "Is there anyone on your feed who makes you feel like garbage?" If the answer is yes, show them the "Mute" or "Restrict" button. It’s the ultimate privacy tool for mental health.
Ask our chatbot about the best privacy-focused alternatives to popular apps