Inside Instagram’s “PG-13 by Default”: what it means for teen safety and the future of content ratings

Instagram is taking a page from Hollywood. In a landmark move, the platform announced that teen accounts will now be guided by PG-13 by Default – a new setting that limits what users under 18 can see to the kind of content typically permitted in a PG-13 movie. Teens will only be able to opt out with parental permission.

The change marks one of the most significant shifts in how social media platforms now define what’s safe for young users. It’s also a signal that entertainment-style maturity ratings may soon become the norm across digital platforms.

“I think it’s a really smart move by Instagram,” says Dr Tracy Elizabeth, former Head of Family Safety at TikTok and Maturity Ratings Lead at Netflix, who recently discussed Instagram’s new policy with Ailís Daly, Head of Trust & Safety, EMEA, at WebPurify, an IntouchCX company. “I admire their ambition, and I see this as trailblazing. It’s only a matter of time before other platforms follow.”

• Watch the full podcast of Ailís’s conversation with Tracy below:

Why Instagram’s PG-13 for Teens is a “trailblazing” move

So what does PG-13 mean in practice? According to Dr Elizabeth, it reflects a balance between freedom and protection.

“PG stands for parental guidance, not parental mandate,” she explains. “It says to parents, ‘Think about whether you want your young person to see this before they do.’ Instagram is taking on that role in the absence of an adult being there to make that decision.”

Under this model, teens should expect to encounter only mild profanity, limited sexual innuendo, and minimal references to substances – and even then, those references must include a cautionary message. The goal, says Elizabeth, is to create a “developmentally comfortable space for teens” without erasing all of their agency.

The moderation challenge: drawing the line

Defining what qualifies as PG-13 in a world of user-generated, constantly changing content is no small task. Unlike film and television, which can be reviewed in full before release, social media operates in real time.

“Where it’s going to get tricky is sexual innuendo,” Elizabeth says. “Is it kissing? Cleavage? A thigh? It will be interesting to see where Instagram draws the line on body exposure and sexual references.”

The challenge, she adds, is one of moderation at scale. Instagram must manage billions of short videos and posts daily, blending automated tools with human judgment. That balancing act, Elizabeth says, will determine whether the system works or falters.

Ratings systems meet algorithms

Dr Elizabeth has spent more than 15 years in the ratings world, helping Netflix build its global maturity system and later supporting TikTok’s content classification efforts. She views Instagram’s move as a natural progression.

“It makes a ton of sense that digital platforms would adopt the rating systems we see in entertainment,” she says. “But it’s tricky. In the film world, humans have time to review everything before assigning a rating. Social platforms don’t have that luxury.”

That’s where algorithms come in, but with a warning. “Algorithms can absolutely reflect the biases of the humans who trained them,” Elizabeth cautions. “The foundation of these systems is human. The people writing the policies and training the models have enormous influence over what gets flagged or approved.”

She also pushes back against the perception that big tech doesn’t care about young people. “From my own experience, I’ve seen that these companies, including Instagram, genuinely hire people who love and care for young people,” she says. “They’re not villains; they’re facing scale issues, but they’re trying to do the right thing.”

What encourages her most is seeing platforms build teams that bring genuine expertise to the process. “You see these companies hiring specialists who understand child psychology, human development, and maturity ratings. They’re the first pass at developing the policies that inform those algorithms,” she explains. “As long as those people are meticulously designing these systems with youth wellbeing in mind, you can hope that the algorithms themselves will have an air of teen advocacy and safety baked in.”

In short, she says, every algorithm starts with a human, and the more thoughtful those humans are, the safer these systems will be.

Balancing protection and autonomy

For some, the biggest question is whether PG-13 by Default goes too far. After all, teens can only opt out if their parents approve. But Elizabeth believes Instagram struck the right balance.

“In the absence of regulation, tech companies have a responsibility to err on the side of caution,” she says. “It’s safer and more reasonable to elect young people into this experience and then empower parents to modify it.”

Still, she notes a gap: not every teen has a supportive adult to help them navigate these settings. “My concern is for the young people who don’t have someone in their lives to say, ‘Maybe you want to opt into something different,’” she says. That’s where digital literacy and education systems have a role to play.

Instagram also says it will use age-prediction technology to apply protections even when users misstate their age. Dr Elizabeth supports this approach, cautiously. “In the absence of accurate information, platforms should err on the side of caution for a potential teen,” she says. “These companies have a responsibility to do right by young people. That means electing them into safer spaces by default. If they’re ready for fewer guardrails, that decision should happen with an adult’s guidance.”

She adds that the one-to-one nature of social media means exposure carries different risks than television or film. “On social platforms, teens are often alone when they encounter disturbing or mature content. There’s no one next to them to say, ‘Let’s talk about that.’ That’s why these protections matter.”

A global perspective on maturity ratings

The PG-13 framework was created in the US, but comfort levels around content vary dramatically around the world. From the BBFC in the UK to NICAM in the Netherlands and the ACB in Australia, regional boards each take their own approach.

“Cultural comfort for what families see as appropriate is different everywhere,” Elizabeth explains. “If Instagram starts with PG-13 as its benchmark, it needs to think globally. I’d encourage them to partner with international ratings boards like NICAM, which was developed by psychologists and reviewed annually to reflect cultural change.”

Can it actually reduce harm?

There’s reason to believe it can. Research in entertainment has shown that while fictional violence rarely translates into violent behavior, exposure to graphic or hypersexualized content can have measurable psychological effects.

“Seeing realistic, gory imagery as a young person can cause long-term anxiety or nightmares,” says Elizabeth. “And hypersexualized content can normalize behaviors that teens don’t yet understand the consequences of.”

By keeping that kind of material out of teens’ feeds, Instagram could reduce genuine psychological distress, not just social or moral panic.

But Dr Elizabeth is quick to add that no system can filter everything. The most powerful protection, she says, still comes from conversation.

“You can avoid the content, but odds are your teen has already seen it,” she says. “Wouldn’t you rather they talk to you about it? Ask them what they’re seeing, what they love, and what makes them uncomfortable. That’s how you build trust.”

Towards a Next-Generation Safety Model

Asked what a truly future-proof system might look like, Elizabeth envisions one that separates real harm from family comfort and gives users more control.

“We should let families set their own limits,” she says. “Push the button: ‘I don’t want to see kissing,’ ‘I don’t want to see beer.’ Give individuals the levers they want to curate what they see. That’s where you get to a healthier, more enjoyable space for everyone.”

In the end, the PG-13 by Default setting may be just the start, rather than the finish line, for teen safety online. As Dr Elizabeth explains, the goal isn’t to make the internet smaller for teens, but to make it safer, smarter, and more human.