Instagram is making accounts for users under 16 private by default

Facebook-owned Instagram is introducing changes designed to make the app safer for young people. From now on, anyone signing up to the service who’s under the age of 16 (or under 18 in certain countries) will have their account set to private by default, though the option to switch to public will still be available. Anyone under these ages with a public account now will be sent a notification encouraging them to switch to private.

Instagram has been edging toward making private accounts default for young people for a while. In March, it started showing young people signing up to Instagram a message extolling the virtues of having a private account. Now, it’s making private the default.

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