As part of its $18 billion settlement with 29 U.S. states over children’s safety concerns, Meta has agreed to implement sweeping changes to restrict minors’ access to Instagram and Facebook. The new protections, which will automatically apply to users under 18 in participating states and territories pending judicial approval, include a daily two-hour time limit, a restrictive “Night Mode,” autoplay controls, and more. The majority of these controls are mandated to remain in place for 10 years.

Key changes include a cumulative two-hour daily time limit across both Facebook and Instagram, which can only be disabled with parental permission. Once the limit is reached, teens will be locked out of both platforms. Additionally, Meta will introduce a default “Night Mode” that blocks underage users from accessing, posting, or viewing any part of its platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. The company will also provide prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous usage and mute notifications by default during school hours (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.), except for direct messages and account security alerts. Furthermore, Meta will block underage users from using extreme makeup filters, hide like and reaction counts by default, and strengthen its technology for identifying users aged 13 to 17 to ensure they receive appropriate protections. Source

This is a summary. Read the original at techcrunch.com.