Published on January 15th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

Instagram Parental Controls and Third-party Alternatives

Social media is not necessarily bad, it can be used in many positive ways to share information and communicate with friends. For children of the tech generation this form of communication is essential to developing friend groups and maintaining social connections. Even though social media is essential to the social lives of children dangers are still present. Understandably many parents who are unsure of these new technologies want to ensure their children are safe. However, for many social media sites this can be a challenge, there are no Instagram parental controls for example. This means that you as a parent will be in a lot less control of what your child sees than if these settings were available. Despite these settings not being available there are steps you can take to ensure that you are able to find alternatives in the absence of Instagram parental controls.

Basic Instagram Built-in Options

While Instagram does not have built-in Instagram parental controls there are some basic privacy and security options that are available which can be used to make an account safer for teens who use it. The most important step that you can take to ensure the privacy of your child is to make sure that their account is private. This is the basic level of protection that can be afforded to an account. It does this in two ways. First, if individuals want to follow the account, they are required to request access. It also does not allow anyone who does not follow the account to view the photos posted.

The second feature it is important to be aware of, is tagging. While tagging is a common feature on most social media sites it does provide some risks. If your child is tagged in someone else’s photo, then that person’s followers will be able to view the picture of your child and follow it to their account. The built-in tag privacy options stop that connection from occurring by not providing a link to your child’s account. The picture will still be posted for their followers to see but your child’s profile will not be directly accessible for anyone who views it.

When Considering Alternatives

There are many monitoring applications available which will step in to fill the gap left by the lack of Instagram parental controls. However, to maintain trust between you and your child while also allowing them to learn about making decisions you need to choose the right alternative. It is important to remember that this is a growing experience for your child you will not want to make all the decisions for them. So, you need an application that can reflect this, while still giving you the piece of mind that your child is safe. You need an application which gives you the information you need in the least intrusive way possible. Some of the things to consider when looking for an application include the following: Does it teach them how to use their phone responsibly? Providing to many restrictions on things like time or content does not teach your child how to be responsible; or how to interact or manage their phone use in a healthy way. Also, does it keep the data confidential? You do not want to be reading your child’s messages, you want to trust them and make sure they know it. So, you want an application which provides you with only the information that you need to know, while also notifying you of possible issues all without violating your child’s privacy. It needs to do this while keeping their personal data secure.

Tags: child, instagram, parental control, privacy, social

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.