Instagram – Is It Okay for Kids? What Parents Need to Know
In many ways, and without reinventing the wheel, Instagram is changing the way people share photos with each other. The mobile app, which is only available on the iPhone, is steadily growing in popularity among the kid and teen crowds, causing parents to take notice and ask, what exactly is Instagram, and is there anything I should be worried about?
Just like with any social sharing application, there are a few things parents need to know about Instagram and how their teen may be using it, so the Yoursphere for Parents editorial team did the research. But first, what is Instagram?
What Is Instagram?
Instagram is a photo sharing mobile app that’s (currently) only available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Users can either upload a photo from their device’s library or take a photo right then and there and use Instagram to change the way the photo looks.
The user then has the option to simultaneously upload this photo to a number of social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare, depending on which ones they sync to their Instagram account. The photo will also be uploaded to the Instagram community where people can like and comment on it.
In many ways, Instagram is a photo-sharing social network on its own. Users have a profile with the option to fill out information such as first and last name, username, birthday, gender, bio, email address and phone number. Popular photos from all over the world are shared under the “Popular” tab, and every user has the option to follow other Instagram users and vice versa.
The idea behind Instagram is simple, really. And they execute it so beautifully. But just like with any social sharing application, there are some privacy and concerning content issues that can ruin the Instagram experience for a family with kids and younger teens.
What Parents Need To Know
Privacy
The only information required when signing up for Instagram is an email address and desired username. Though they ask for a phone number, it’s very clear during sign up that this is optional, so please consider your privacy or your teen’s privacy before entering a phone number here.
The single most important thing to realize is that, by default, anyone can view the photos that you upload to Instagram. In other words, your profile and your photos are publicly viewable unless you tell it otherwise. If you only want your followers to see your photos, then you need to set your profile to private by following these steps:
- Go to your profile page (tap the Profile tab)
- Scroll down to the bottom of the Profile page, where you’ll see a “Photos are private” switch
- Toggle the “Photos are private” switch to ON to turn on privacy.
Once you set your profile to private, anyone who wants to see your photos will need to be your friend/follower first, meaning they’ll have to send a request and you’ll have to approve.
Geotagging
During the process of uploading a photo, the geo-location data of the photo you’re uploading can easily be shared with your followers if you’re not careful. Fortunately, Instagram turns geotagging off by default, but it’s easy to accidently turn it on.
When uploading a photo, be sure to avoid tapping the button shown in this screenshot. If you do, you can always tap it again to turn it off. This is just something to be aware of as geotagging is a huge risk to you and your teen’s privacy online. You can learn more about how geotagging works, here.
Age-Appropriateness
Instagram is not for children under the age of 13, and in my opinion, not suitable for slightly older teens. If you’re 12 years old, there isn’t even a 1999 year to choose when signing up. Instagram has strict Terms of Use and Community Guidelines that make their age requirement clear. Also, there’s an obvious connection between Instagram and other adult-intended social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Blocking and Reporting Users and Content
While there are tools for reporting/blocking users and inappropriate content, know that people will, and do upload nude photos. In fact, the editorial team found a multitude of bestiality photos in less than one minute when searching for friends. It’s a sad fact, and another commonsense reason that you shouldn’t allow your children to use Instagram. If you are an Instagram user, they provide easy-to-use tools to block or report someone. The steps below show you how:
Blocking a user –
- Navigate to their profile page (tap Profile > Search Instagram > Names and usernames, then search for and tap on their username).
- Tap the button in the top right corner of the screen (gear icon).
- Tap “Block user” to prevent the user from viewing your account.
The same steps can be followed to report a user, in addition to giving a reason why you’re reporting them.
Reporting a photo –
- Tap the “…” below the photo you would like to report and then “Flag for review”
- Select the proper reason for reporting from the list and, if prompted, a short description.
NOTE: All flags are anonymous and go directly to Instagram.
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So, parents, do you use Instagram? Does your teen? If so, have you or they encountered any privacy, bullying or content issues like we did? As I said at the outset, Instagram does a simple and fantastic job of letting us do some very fun and creative things with our photos. Frankly, in my opinion, it’s a shame that others ruin what should be enjoyed by you and your family.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below. And remember, there are plenty of apps out there, just like there are plenty of social networks out there that were made FOR your children, and with their privacy in mind. And though it’s a wonderful app that enhances the way we share photos, Instagram is not one of them.
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert, and the founder of 
Is anyone running into obsessive behavior with Instagram used as a role-playing medium? My daughter has gotten caught up in the craze around The Hunger Games. She is getting more involved in a community of people who take turns posting pictures from the movie or other images they attribute to a scenario in the movie, then take turns writing stories that could stem from the picture. We are not comfortable about the community aspect of this, as well as the emotional relationships that can be built in an anonymous environment where you really have no idea or way to verify kids, teens or adults are who they say they are.
We’re trying to curb this quickly, but in a way that doesn’t crush her spirit or inspire rebellious behavior (something she can be prone to do by nature). Thoughts?
Thanks,
Galen & Christy
Hi Galen and Christy,
From what you shared, it sounds like your daughter has a natural interest in creative writing. Perhaps you can encourage her enjoyment in writing by steering her in a direction that offers a platform for aspiring young writers. She can showcase her writing talent in an environment meant for kids and teens vs. a community intended for adults and subsequently filled with adult content and people.
Mary Kay
I just found out by my 12 year old daughter she had set up a profile on this instagram . She was told about it by a friend, and thankfully her and I have a great communication so she told me, not thinking anything of it. She begans to tell me how she is friends with some kid supposedly 12 years old in the UK and how they have been commenting on eachothers picture. 12 years old???? seriously???shows me the mentallity she has. My husband began to explain to her how she really does not know who is on the other end, and who exactly is viewing her pictures. My husband and I are not ok with this. privacy or not. Nothing is 100% . We are not happy about having our daughter pics out on the internet making it easy access for all these sick individuals that we all know about. not happy about this at all. We will be deleting all her photos and info today.Thank to this information I understand more about this
My 11-year old downloaded Instagram on her iPod touch – after seeing me use it on my iPhone! I will need to review some guidelines with her now, after reading your article and some of these comments. Thanks for the great tips on your site.
I’m seeing major bullying going on by 12 and 13 year olds whose parents have no idea that Instagram is anything more than a fun camera app.
My kids 9 and 11 were able to sign up for Instagram by BYPASSING the age settings in the prefs settings. The app DOES NOT ASK for age at sign up. I’, gonna let them use it but monitoring content. They will prolly just get bored of it and stop using it before I need to intervene
Very nice post, I certainly love this website, keep on it.
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I have a MacBook computer and I want my pictures that are on my computer to be on my Motorola Razr 2 v9. I have a memory card and a memory card adapter. When I put the card in the adapter, the computer recognizes it. And the pictures that I have on my phone can transfer to the computer with no problem. But the pictures on my computer won’t transfer to my phone. All that shows up is a big red “x” on a black screen. Am I doing something wrong? The phone company is AT&T..
My 5th grade daughter and friends (age 10) purchased instagram app with itunes giftcards. Her friends thought it was an app to take & share pics and at first didn’t realize they could post comments. I had no idea that it was a pseudo-facebook app. (We are waiting until she is 13 to get a FB account.)
I did not know that this app would have her following and being followed by hundreds of people she didn’t know…..and posting comments…..it was a alarming.
Inappropriate language and pictures were being posted…… We came across your
website and found this article to be very helpful!!!! Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you
Thank you, Sam.
Be sure to check out Yoursphere.com with your daughter. It’s our social network just for kids. It’s free with lots of age appropriate and fun things to do! We comply with children’s privacy laws and since she is under age 13, we will request your permission for her to join. Profiles are always private, and no one can follow, comment or friend your daughter unless first approved.
We’re glad this article was helpful to you!
Best.
Mary Kay
Thank you. We will check out yoursphere.com
I agree with a previous post that the app BYPASSES age. A group of moms and teachers signed up to follow our kids/students and were not asked age. Not sure why?? If you have information on this please share.
The moms and/or teachers have been able to read post and figure out why some kids are distracted in class, acting out, or not getting along. Sharing information has helped the school get an idea on particular clicks, aggressive behavior and outright misconduct. Your website has been forwarded to the school administration and hopefully will be distributed to help navigate parents to privacy controls.
Personally, reading post together with my daughter has brought up important conversations regarding “personal self-esteem/self-worth” and popularity not being based on someone liking or disliking a picture or post. Tweens are not proficient in perspective taking (in fact their just learning) which leaves them vulnerable….even if they are good bluffers.
Thanks again for your website.
I thought you could set the instagram to also make sure no one can follow, comment or friend your daughter unless first approved. So what is the difference between the two? If you do not want your child to accidentally come across inapproiprate photos then they could not use the internet. So I believe educating them instead of completely isolating them best protects them from pretitors.