Meta is announcing new tools and resources designed to support parents, guardians and teens across technologies. Parents will soon be able to set up supervision tools in VR to all Quest headsets and use new supervision features available with Instagram, like sending invites to their teens to initiate tools and setting specific times to limit their teen’s use.
Supervision tools on Instagram are beginning to roll out globally. Meta is also continuing to add features to help teens better manage the time they spend on Instagram with new nudges and reminders to use the Take a Break feature.
Parental Supervision Tools and Resources for Quest
Meta is beginning to roll out parental supervision tools to all Quest headsets. In the Parent Dashboard, parents and guardians can:
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Approve their teen’s download or purchase of an app that is blocked by default based on its IARC-rating.
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Teens 13+ can submit an “Ask to Buy” request, which triggers a notification to their parent.
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The parent can then approve or deny the request from the Oculus mobile app.
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Block specific apps that may be inappropriate for their teen, which will prevent the teen from launching those apps. Apps that can be blocked include apps like web browsers and apps available on the Quest Store.
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View all of the apps that their teen owns.
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Receive “Purchase Notifications,” alerting them when their teen makes a purchase in VR.
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View headset screen time from the Oculus mobile app, so they’ll know how much time their teen is spending in VR.
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View their teen’s list of Oculus Friends.
For parents to link to their teen’s account, the teen must initiate the process, and both the parent and teen have to agree.
Meta is also launching new Parent education hub, including a guide to the VR parental supervision tools from ConnectSafely to help parents discuss virtual reality with their teens.
Expanding Parental Supervision Features on Instagram
On Instagram, parents and guardians can now:
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Send invitations to their teens to initiate supervision tools. Initially, only teens could send invitations.
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Set specific times during the day or week when they would like to limit their teen’s use of Instagram.
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See more information when their teen reports an account or post, including who was reported, and the type of report.
If you already have supervision set up on Instagram in the US, these updates are now available in addition to our other supervision tools. Starting this month, these tools will begin rolling out to other countries including the UK, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, France and Germany, with plans to roll out globally before the end of the year. Visit the Family Center to learn more.
