Age-appropriate Instagram settings for UK 13-year-olds: Teen Account, Private, Supervision, DMs restricted, Hidden Words and screen-time limits.
Instagram's minimum age is 13. UK 13-year-olds will normally be placed on a Teen Account by default, but parents still need to confirm the settings, link supervision and remove the easy paths to stranger contact, especially in DMs and through tagged photos.
The steps below are the minimum set for a 13-year-old; revisit them every term.
Settings → Account → Account type and Personal information. If the birthday is wrong, fix it before anything else. Tip: Under-16 protections only apply if Meta knows the user is under 16.
Settings → Supervision → invite parent's Instagram account. Tip: Enable daily time limits and quiet hours from 9pm to 7am.
Settings → Privacy → Private account → On.
Settings → Messages → Others on Instagram → Don't receive requests. Tip: 13-year-olds should not be receiving cold DMs from strangers.
Settings → Privacy → Tags and Mentions → People you follow. Tip: Stops strangers tagging them into adult or marketing posts.
Settings → Privacy → Hidden Words → toggle on for comments, DM requests, and Story interactions.
Sit down for 10 minutes. Agree that the phone leaves the bedroom at 9pm, that you will not read DMs unless there is a safeguarding concern, and that they can come to you about anything without losing the app.
Red flags to watch for
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.