Meta today announced major changes to Facebook and Instagram's child safety features as part of a settlement agreement with almost all U.S. states. Teens under 18 will face a two-hour daily time limit on both apps, overridable by parents. Night Mode will block posting and viewing between midnight and 6 a.m., while School Mode mutes notifications from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The apps will send prompts after every 15 minutes of continuous use, and at 60 and 90 minute daily milestones.

Teens can choose a non-algorithmic feed, and parents can require this setting. Autoplay can be turned off, with parental override possible. Hidden likes and cosmetic surgery or extreme makeup filters will be blocked for teen accounts.

Meta will strengthen age assurance tools to ensure teens have experiences designed for their age group. New parental controls will notify parents if a teen links a second account or interacts with suspicious accounts. Direct messages are exempt from time limits, Night Mode, and School Mode.

Meta will pay approximately $18 billion over 10 years to fund online youth safety initiatives, with $5.3 billion withheld pending TikTok and YouTube implementing similar measures. If competitors comply, Meta will reduce daily limits to one hour per app and expand Night Mode to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Meta calls on TikTok and YouTube to adopt one-hour daily limits, night mode, and age assurance measures, proposing they each pay $5.3 billion to match Meta's withheld amount. The settlement avoids a federal trial where California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey sought closer to $200 billion in civil penalties.