Facebook now makes teenager accounts private by default
On the one hand, Meta boasts extended security settings for young people and, on the other hand, shocked by accusations from some users who reported that Meta employees stole user accounts and extorted several thousand US dollars from users.
What is behind Facebook's "private" settings
Facebook recently announced that it would introduce more “private” settings as the default for all users under the age of 16. In June 2022, the company had already launched new protection functions for teenagers on Instagram. Now Facebook users who are under the age of 16 but already have an account should also be prompted to activate the most recent privacy setting with one click.
Facebook's private settings include various functions that increase user security. This is particularly relevant for users under the age of 16. Enabling this setting has the following more secure consequences: Only friends can see the posts of the account in which it is tagged. The list of friends and pages that the account follows are only visible to contacts of the same. Users who have activated private mode must review posts in which they are tagged. Also, only friends of the account owner can comment on posts from private accounts.
Facebook is also currently trying to protect young people from fraudulent adult accounts. To this end, the social platform is testing an option to prevent teenagers from sending adults messages that have previously been blocked or reported by other teenager accounts. Facebook also doesn't show these "suspicious" adults in teen contact recommendations, and encourages teen accounts to report the accounts they've blocked as well. Meanwhile, on Instagram, Meta is testing removing the message button entirely from teen accounts when viewed by a "suspicious" adult.
