Prior to getting grilled by the US Senate, Instagram unveiled new features

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri officially announced Tuesday that the company will implement security measures for parents and young app users.

Instagram was alleged earlier this year of instilling “addiction-like behaviors” in children.

And, on Wednesday, President Adam Mosseri will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated in a blog post that they are checking these modifications to further reduce the potential that teens would also hear from people they don’t know or don’t want to hear from and plan to make them available to everyone early next year. It will create a tool to allow parents to monitor and limit their child’s time on Instagram, with a March rollout.

Instagram has also launched the “Take a Break” initiative, which will send users an alert designed to encourage them to exit the app after scrolling for a longer length of time.

According to early test results, more than 90% of teens keep reminders enabled after enabling the feature. It is now available to users in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. By early next year, the feature will be available globally.

Users will also be able to bulk delete previously posted content, as well as previous likes and comments, beginning in January 2022.

Instagram has announced that people would no longer be able to tag or mention teens who do not follow them or include their content in Reels Remixes or Guides.

In his post, Mosseri defended the platform, saying, “Every day, I see the positive impact that Instagram has for young people everywhere.”

He also stated that he wants to ensure that it remains that way, which involves keeping them safe on Instagram above all. It is also developing a new educational hub for parents and guardians that will include product tutorials and expert tips to help them discuss social media use with their children.

According to social media consultant Matt Navarra, the timing of Instagram’s announcement was “interesting.”