Meta has agreed to a sweeping settlement that will significantly alter how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram across the United States. A judge approved the agreement on August 27, introducing a default two-hour daily time limit for users under 18 on both platforms. The settlement also includes restrictions on app access during overnight hours and mutes school-day notifications.
Under the terms of the agreement, Meta will implement a two-hour daily cap on combined usage of Facebook and Instagram. Time spent in direct messaging, settings, and qualifying long-form audio or video content will be excluded from this limit. A teen can only disable the two-hour cap with parental consent, creating a more definitive stopping point than previous reminders.
Overnight and School-Day Protections
A feature called "Night Mode" will block most activity on Facebook and Instagram from midnight to 6 a.m., preventing teens from viewing or posting to feeds, stories, explore, or reels. Direct messaging will remain accessible during this period. Additionally, push notifications will be disabled by default from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., with exceptions for urgent account security alerts.
"School Mode" will mute most push notifications from Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., during the school year (August 15 to June 15). Direct messages and critical security alerts will still be delivered.
The settlement also mandates more frequent screen-time prompts, with teenagers receiving an alert after every 15 minutes of continuous use, and again at 60 and 90 minutes of total daily usage.
Content and Feature Changes
Teens will have the option to choose a non-personalized feed as their default, which will not rely on Meta's recommendation systems. Parents supervising their teen's account can require this setting. The option to disable autoplay for videos will also be available, with parents able to enforce this setting as well.
Furthermore, like and reaction counts will be hidden by default on teen accounts, both for their own posts and for content from others. Meta is also expanding restrictions on appearance filters, prohibiting access to extreme makeup filters in addition to existing bans on cosmetic surgery filters.
Age Verification and Parental Controls
Meta plans to invest in improved technology to detect accounts belonging to children under 13 and to identify users aged 13 to 17 who may have entered an incorrect birthdate. These efforts aim to ensure that users are placed into age-appropriate experiences.
The company is also enhancing its parental supervision tools. Parents will receive notifications when a teen links a secondary account or interacts with potentially suspicious accounts. Periodic updates on their teen's usage and attempts to alter protective settings will also be provided.
Industry-Wide Implications
Meta's settlement includes a financial package of approximately $18 billion. Participating states are expected to receive about $12.7 billion over 10 years. The remaining $5.3 billion is contingent on TikTok and YouTube implementing similar restrictions, including a one-hour daily limit, night mode, and age-assurance measures, and making matching financial payments.
Meta has called for an industry-wide approach, arguing that teens move fluidly between various apps. The company suggests that restrictions on one platform have limited impact if users can immediately switch to another. If other major platforms adopt similar frameworks, Meta's own restrictions could become even stricter, potentially extending the daily limit to one hour per app and expanding Night Mode hours.
Oversight and Implementation
An independent auditor will annually review Meta's compliance with the agreement for five years. The settlement also establishes an independent social media research foundation, which will receive consented user data for research into teen well-being.
While the new requirements will roll out over the coming months, families can proactively review their teen's social media settings. This includes setting up Meta's parental supervision tools, checking actual screen time on devices, reviewing privacy and contact settings, and adjusting content safety settings. Utilizing phone-level controls and establishing nighttime phone routines are also recommended strategies for parents.