Research indicates that platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube are letting children down due to inadequate safety features.

      More than half of child safety features on social media are not functioning as claimed.

      Social media companies have long assured parents that their children are safe while online. However, new research indicates these assurances may not be credible. A report from the Cybersafety Research Center evaluated 86 child safety features across TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Only 35 of these features operated as promised, while the rest were either nonfunctional, hidden within settings, or completely absent.

      Which platforms showed the least effectiveness in ensuring child safety?

      To conduct their testing, researchers created fake teen accounts and adult accounts to examine the actual functionality of safety features. Snapchat exhibited the highest failure rate at 73%, followed by Instagram at 66%, YouTube at 55%, and TikTok at 50%. Every measure intended to prevent cyberbullying was ineffective on all four platforms.

      For instance, a minor's test account on TikTok searching for content related to disordered eating was shown suggestions from the app related to pro-anorexia communities, including terms about concealing food and self-harm.

      On Snapchat, an adult account could locate and message a child account without facing any restrictions. Instagram, while preventing adults from initiating chats with teens who don’t follow them, allowed adults to respond freely if a child initiated contact first, without any warnings.

      Across all platforms, researchers noted nine features that were entirely absent, as they could not activate them even when following the specified steps provided by the companies.

      Responses from the platforms and implications for online child safety

      Meta

      Each of the four companies contested the report’s conclusions, asserting their features operate as intended or suggesting that the tests did not accurately reflect the way real children utilize the apps. These findings arise as the UK considers a social media ban for users under 16, with similar measures being proposed in other countries.

      Additional research revealed that Australia’s ban on users under 16 has not prevented 85% of teens from accessing social media, as children have demonstrated significant ingenuity in evading age restrictions.

      The larger issue is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. With weak platform safeguards and easy-to-evade bans, your child might depend on systems that are much less secure than they appear.

      Manisha Priyadarshini is a tech and entertainment writer with over nine years of editorial experience.

      Reddit is discontinuing anonymous browsing on old Reddit, leading to dissatisfaction among long-time users.

      Reddit's old interface is being modified to require login, leaving its future somewhat unclear. If you have been using old.reddit.com without logging in, that option will soon be eliminated. Reddit announced that it will mandate user login for access to old.reddit.com, with the change expected to take place in the coming month. A Reddit admin shared this update on the platform, stating that it is part of an effort to regulate how automated systems access the site.

      What prompted Reddit to secure the old interface?

      Yet another study confirms that TikTok's injury advice can be severely misguided.

      Your knee should not rely on rehab guidance from viral TikToks.

      We have seen various concerns regarding the negative influence of social media, such as its tendency to keep kids glued to screens. However, one rising concern is the poor medical advice being disseminated on the platform. While TikTok is often a space for exploring dance routines or new recipes, it is also being used to share health-related advice from non-experts. A new study from researchers at Université de Montréal evaluated TikTok videos on anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation exercises, revealing troubling results. The research analyzed 106 videos associated with the search term "ACL rehab exercises," including 55 from average users and 51 from healthcare professionals.

      Instagram is experimenting with a more user-friendly approach to adjusting recommendations.

      A shortcut for Reels is being tested to simplify access to Instagram's Your Algorithm tool.

      We've all experienced an Instagram feed going awry. A random Reel captures our interest, and soon the app begins serving similar content endlessly. Instagram already provides a feature called Your Algorithm, allowing users to modify the topics that influence their recommendations. Now, the company aims to make this tool more readily accessible while users interact with the app.