Tips for Parents
Basic Info
Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on Apple iOS, Android and Windows Phone. People can upload photos or videos to our service and share them with their followers or with a select group of friends. They can also view, comment and like posts shared by their friends on Instagram. Anyone 13 and older can create an account by registering an email address and selecting a username.
Want to learn more? Here are some of our popular help topics:
- Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use
Anyone signed into the Instagram app can view photos or videos on someone's public profile. If you'd like to make sure that only approved followers can see your child's posts, we suggest setting your posts to private. Once you set your posts to private, anyone who wants to see your child's posts will have to send your child a follower request which they can then approve or ignore.
Your child can also remove followers and block other people on Instagram. When they block another person, that person can't view your child's photos/videos or search for their Instagram account. People aren't notified when they're blocked. Learn more about blocking people.
Yes. We understand that undergoing a mastectomy is a life-changing experience, and that sharing photos can help raise awareness about breast cancer and support the women and men facing a diagnosis, undergoing treatment or living with the scars of cancer. The vast majority of these kinds of photos are following our policies.
Yes. We agree that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful, and we understand that it's important for mothers to be able to share their experiences on Instagram. The vast majority of these kinds of posts are following our policies.
Learn how to control your visibility on Instagram.
Safety
To learn more about staying safe on Instagram, download our Privacy and Safety Tips:
You can also download our Privacy and Safety Tips postcard for quick pointers to help you manage your account:
Instagram collaborated with Connect Safely to write tips and advice for parents and partnered with safety organizations around the world to localize this guide. To learn more, download the guide below:
Instagram and Facebook worked with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center to create this guide for parents in recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month.
Please note that the Safety in the Online Community guide is only available in English at this time.
Instagram removes posts that aren't following our Terms of Use, based on laws in specific jurisdictions.
If you have an Instagram account, you can report a post from within the app or fill out this form.
Keep in mind that people own the rights to all images they've taken and shared with Instagram. If there's no violation of our Guidelines or Terms taking place, we can’t help you directly unless required to do so by law.
Instagram requires everyone to be at least 13 years old before they can create an account (in some jurisdictions, this age limit may be higher). If your child is younger than 13 and created an account on Instagram, you can show them how to delete their account.
If you'd like to report an account belonging to someone under 13 or if you believe someone is impersonating your child who's under 13, please fill out this form. In order to delete a child's account, we'll need to verify that the child is under 13.
To learn more about our policies, read our Terms of Use.
We know and appreciate that many parents use Instagram to capture and share photos of their children. However, images that show nudity may be removed because they don't follow our Community Guidelines.
We understand that people have different ideas about what’s okay to share on Instagram and that many people share things with good intentions. To help keep Instagram a fun and safe place, we require everyone to follow our Community Guidelines and we may remove content to help keep others from possibly reusing these types of images in inappropriate ways.
We ask that all people follow our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use. If your teen encounters someone on Instagram who's not following these guidelines or Terms, they can report that person's posts directly from Instagram.
People can report abusive behavior or posts with our built-in reporting. This includes nude photos, abuse and excessive spam. Reporting is totally anonymous. No information about the reporter is sent to the person whose account or photo has been reported.
To report a photo:
- Tap
(iPhone and Windows Phone) or
(Android) above the photo you'd like to report and then tap Report Inappropriate.
To report a comment:
- Tap Comment above the image, swipe left on the comment you'd like to report, tap ! and then choose Spam or Scam or Abusive Content.
Please also talk to your kids and educate them about internet safety. If they're experiencing abuse from other people on Instagram, ask them to use blocking and our privacy setting.
There are also lots of great online resources with more information for parents on bullying:
It's important to note that if your teen is a victim of abusive behavior on our service, we're unable to provide non-public information (like the offending person’s email address) without a search warrant or subpoena from law enforcement. It there's an emergency, we would suggest contacting your local police department. Get more information about law enforcement.
If an account is established with the intent of bullying or harassing another person or if a photo or comment is intended to bully or harass someone, please report it. You can also learn what to do if you think someone is pretending to be you or someone else on Instagram.
Once you've reported the abuse, consider blocking the person.
Learn how to report other accounts or posts that don't follow our Community Guidelines.
Learn more about our Community Guidelines.
Security
We appreciate your concern for your child's use of our app, but unfortunately we can't give you access to the account or take any action on the account at your request. We're generally forbidden by privacy laws against giving unauthorized access to someone who isn't an account holder.
Please note that all users ages 13 and older are considered authorized account holders and are included in the scope of this policy.
We encourage parents to exercise any discretion they can on their own phones and in overseeing their child's internet use. You might consider using the parental control tools available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
You can also use your preferred search engine to find parental controls for your phone's app store. If you'd like to uninstall Instagram your phone, you can follow these stops for uninstalling from Android and Apple iOS phones.
Learn more about keeping your account safe with these security tips.
