Meta Platforms on June 14 announced that it will broaden its Instagram parental controls by adding parental controls to its Quest virtual reality headsets. With this step, the tech giant aims to make its services safer for teens.
This new tool allows for the photo-sharing network to let parents set limits on the number of hours their children are allowed to use Instagram. After a certain time, if they are dwelling on similar content they will be redirected.
With this new tool, parents will be able to send invites to their kids to initiate tools and set specific times to limit their use.
Instagram further stated in its blog that it will continue to add features that will help teens manage their time effectively with reminders to use the ‘Take a Break’ feature.
Here’s what parents will be able to do with this feature for Quest:
Parents will be able to approve their child’s download or purchase of an app that is blocked by default on its IARC rating. Teenagers who are aged 13+ can also choose to submit an ‘Ask to Buy’ request which will notify the parent. The parents then have the option to approve or deny the request from the Oculus mobile app.
Furthermore, parents can block specific apps which they feel might be inappropriate for their children. Apps like web browsers and apps available on the Quest store can be blocked.
In addition, parents will also be able to view the apps their kids have downloaded, receive purchase notifications, see headset screen time via their Oculus mobile app, view their child’s Oculus friends, and lastly, block links and air links to prevent their son/daughter from going through content from their PC on their Quest headset.
Most importantly, for the parents to get access to their child’s account, the kid must give them access so as to initiate the process. After this, both the parent and the teen will have to agree.
The supervision tools on Instagram have begun to roll out for everybody globally.
Image Credits: Instagram Blog