Instagram

16+

Minimum age for Australians (under Social Media Minimum Age laws)

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a social media service owned by Meta. It is designed for people to share and view photos and videos.

You can create an account on Instagram to post content and follow other accounts. Posts from accounts you follow appear in your feed, where you can like, comment and repost posts.

Instagram accounts can be public or private. If your account is public, everyone can see your posts and follow you. If your account is private, only people you approve can follow you and see what you share. You can choose to switch between a public or private account in your settings.

Instagram has a number of different features:

Posts – photos or videos shared to people’s feeds. You have the option to edit your photos and videos with filters and other effects before posting.
Stories – temporary photos and videos that are only available for 24 hours.
Reels – short videos you can scroll through (similar to TikTok). They can be anywhere from 3 seconds to 20 minutes long.
Instants – temporary photos you can share in the Instagram messages tab. Similar to Snapchat, these photos can only be viewed once and disappear after being viewed (or after 24 hours if not viewed).
Notes – short status messages you can share with your followers or select people. Notes appear at the top of the Instagram messages tab, as well as on your profile, for up to 24 hours.
Explore – a section where Instagram suggests content you may be interested in.
Live – the live stream feature on Instagram. Only eligible creators can use this feature – usually someone with a public account with at least 1,000 followers.
Direct messaging – one-to-one and group messages you can send to other people on Instagram.
Voice and video calling – calls you can make to other people through Instagram.
‘Close Friends’ list – when you add people to your 'Close Friends' list, you can share posts and stories with only those who are on the list (as opposed to all your followers).
Meta AI chatbot - an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that can answer questions and search the internet. Meta AI can also be used outside Instagram, such as through the Meta AI app.

Instagram also uses an algorithm to recommend content from accounts you do not follow, including ads. You may see this recommended content between posts in your feed, between stories, or while you are watching reels. You can ‘tune your algorithm’ by choosing topics you want to see more or less of, giving you more control over what you see across Reels, Explore and your main feed.

Instagram has ‘Teen Accounts’ with extra privacy and safety settings. These accounts are automatically applied to users under 18. In Australia, users must be 16 to have an Instagram account (due to the social media age restrictions), so teen accounts apply to users aged 16 and 17.

Teen accounts:

are private by default – private account holders need to approve people before they can follow them
limit who can contact teens – they can only receive messages from people they follow or have previous connected with
hide comments and message requests that contain potentially offensive words and phrases
have daily time limits (notifications telling them to leave the app after 60 minutes each day) and sleep mode (where notifications are muted and there will be a notification telling them to leave the app)
automatically blur images detected as containing nudity
allow parents and carers to use parental control features, including seeing which accounts their teen has chatted with and the content categories they view.

Instagram has additional privacy settings that allow you to moderate comments (such as keyword blocking) and control if other people or accounts tag you. These functions are available on personal Instagram accounts and if you manage an Instagram account for your organisation or business.

In August 2025, Meta introduced a new feature called ‘Instagram Map’, similar to Snapchat’s ‘Snap Map.’ When you open Instagram, the map updates your current location (if you have location sharing enabled). That location stays on the map for the people you share it with, even after you close the app. It will only change the next time you open Instagram, at which point, it will update to your new location. You should be aware that this can reveal private information, like where you live and where you go. You can turn off this feature at any time. The feature is only available in certain countries and is not yet available in Australia.

Website: www.instagram.com
Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Instagram?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use image and video sharing services like Instagram.

Instagram is used for: content creation, location sharing, messaging/online chat, photo/video sharing, online relationships, screen capture and video calling.

Social media age restrictions for under-16s

As of 4 December 2025, Australians under 16 should no longer be able to access their Instagram accounts or create a new account. This change is in response to the Australian Government's social media age restrictions.

Users aged 16 and older who mistakenly receive a notification or lose access to their accounts have the option to confirm their age through Meta’s third-party partner, Yoti, by providing a video selfie or government-issued ID. Yoti deletes this information once the age check is complete.