Instagram rolls out Family Centre, providing Parental Supervision Tools
NURUL AISYAH MOHD NOR15 Sep 2022 04:27pm
But there is a dark side to the virtual world, one of it concerning safety among teenage users. How safe is it?
Parents would bend over backwards to ensure their child’s safety is protected online. Instagram has rolled out a special feature that will help to put parents’ minds at ease.
The app has rolled out its Parent Supervision Tools and the Family Centre in Malaysia, which is a place for parents and guardians to access helpful articles, videos and tips on topics like how to talk to teens about social media.
The Family Centre, is a hub where parents and guardians can access resources to help young people build positive online habits.
Instagram head of public policy (APAC), Philip Chua said the new updates are in addition to the improvements Instagram have made over the last year.
Among the latest improvements are helping teens have safer and more private experiences, restricting how advertisers can reach young people, understanding users' real age, and providing teens with more tools to better manage their Instagram experience.
Instagram head of public policy (APAC), Philip Chua
“Our intention is for these tools and resources to strike the right balance between young people's expectations for autonomy, whilst allowing for parents and caregivers to support their teen online,” he said.
In the journey to come to these updates, Instagram previously had engaged in a roundtable discussion with several key local stakeholders to share their experience, concerns, and their hopes to see in a digitally-literate society.
Makchic general manager, Najmin Tajuddin came forward on the session and shared his thoughts as a parent herself.
“Understanding the differences on how parents and children perceive relationships is helpful. For instance, our children value virtual relationships differently than us moms.
“I see a lot of benefits of being on social media platforms. So, as a parent, what I try to do is mitigate risks, and just maximize the benefits as much as possible,” she shared.
Another view from Astro Awani producer and news editor at, Hilal Azmi shared that parents should be aware of their own online behavior in order to set a good example for their children.
“The subject of online scams can be traumatizing for parents and teens, which hinders reporting. The society shall not discriminate against victims of online abuse,” he told.
The Family Center was launched after extensive consultation with parents, guardians, young people and experts from government, academic and non-profit organizations in Asia Pacific including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The new Supervision Features will be available in Malaysia from September 16 onwards, offering parents’ access to new connections made by teens (followed and following insights), daily time limits and scheduled breaks during the week and ability of teens to notify parents if they make a report on Instagram so it can be discuss together.
To learn how to set-up the Supervision Tools, head on to visit the website of www.help.instagram.com and start setting it up on your account.
