Meta launches parental control features on Threads

Meta has begun rolling out parental control tools on its rapidly growing social network, Threads. This update is a significant step aimed at ensuring the digital safety of teenagers and preventing screen addiction. Parents can now monitor how much time their children spend on the platform and set appropriate restrictions. This was reported by Techcrunch.com reports .

The new features are managed through the Family Center, a unified control hub for all Meta applications. According to TechCrunch, parents can analyze their teens' daily and weekly activity on Threads and set strict time limits for app usage. If a teen uses Threads on both a smartphone and a laptop, the set time limit applies across all devices.

Digital hygiene and safety measures

The new toolkit includes a "sleep mode," allowing parents to completely block access to the app during nighttime hours. Notably, for users aged 10 to 17 on Threads, notifications are muted and automatic replies are enabled by default between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM.

Furthermore, parents can manage their teens' privacy settings, such as restricting who can tag their children in posts. According to Meta representatives, teenagers under 16 cannot soften default security settings without parental consent.

These measures are not coincidental. Recently, Meta and other tech giants have faced intense pressure from lawmakers and regulators. With dozens of lawsuits pending regarding child safety and the negative impact of social media on the younger generation, implementing controls on a platform with 500 million users like Threads had become a necessity.

Global rollout plans

Currently, the new control tools are available to users in the US and will be fully operational by next week. Company representatives stated that parental control features for Threads are planned to be rolled out worldwide, including for users in Uzbekistan, by the end of this year.

As a reminder, Threads was launched in July 2023 and quickly became a major competitor to Twitter (now X). The network is gaining popularity among users in Uzbekistan due to its simplicity and integration with Instagram, making these security updates highly relevant for local users.