A recent survey commissioned by Meta and conducted by Counsel Public Affairs indicates strong support among Canadian parents for app store age verification when teens download new apps. The poll, which included 2,533 Canadians aged 18 and older, found that 83% of parents back policies requiring app stores to verify a user’s age before allowing app downloads. This sentiment is also shared by 81% of non-parents.
Meta has highlighted the importance of creating safe online experiences for teens as a priority. Since introducing Teen Accounts last year, Meta reports placing hundreds of millions of teens in protected settings with automatic safeguards on Instagram. These measures are designed to address concerns such as limiting who can contact teens and controlling the content they see.
The findings show that Canadian parents are seeking an industry-wide approach to youth safety online, rather than relying on individual platforms alone. According to the survey, “90% of respondents believe that parents are ultimately responsible for decisions about which apps are appropriate for their children.”
Meta explained how parental consent and age verification could work at the app store level: “Users in Canada would provide their age at the time of app store account creation. If a user is under the age of 18, their account would need to be linked to a verified parent or guardian who would approve or deny any app downloads. Once the user’s age is verified, the app store would share a simple age signal – not personal details – with app developers, allowing apps to automatically place teens into age-appropriate safety settings. Parents would have a single place to manage their child’s online access, reinforcing their role as gatekeepers.”
Survey results also indicate expectations from Canadians that verified ages should help create safer environments within apps by managing interactions with strangers (82%), controlling content type (84%), and limiting time spent online (71%).
Meta recently announced updates to Instagram Teen Accounts that will align content exposure with PG-13 movie ratings: “We recently announced that we’re updating Instagram Teen Accounts to be guided by PG-13 movie ratings. This means that, by default, teens will see content on Instagram that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie. Teens under 18 will be automatically placed into the new 13+ setting, and they won’t be able to opt out without a parent’s permission. For parents who prefer a more restrictive experience, a new, stricter ‘Limited Content’ setting will also be available, filtering even more content and removing teens’ ability to see, leave, or receive comments under posts.” These changes are being rolled out across Instagram in Canada through the end of this year.
As artificial intelligence technology develops further use in social media platforms like Instagram, Meta says it is prioritizing teen safety with new controls: “As AI technology evolves, Meta is prioritizing teens’ safety by introducing new controls that let parents see – and manage – how their teens are interacting with AI characters.” Parents will have options such as disabling one-on-one chats between their teen and AI characters entirely or blocking specific AI characters.
According to Meta's statement: “AIs should not give age-inappropriate responses that would feel out of place in a PG-13 movie and parents can choose to turn off their teen’s access to one-on-one chats with AI characters entirely…AI characters are designed to not engage in age-inappropriate discussions about self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating with teens…”
These features will begin appearing on Instagram accounts for Canadian users early next year.
Meta stated it remains committed "to help ensure teens are placed in age-appropriate online experiences," but noted from Counsel's data that "parents are seeking consistent, age-appropriate standards" across all apps—not just those operated by Meta—through parental approval and robust age verification systems at the point where apps are downloaded.