Meta Extends Parental Supervision Tools to Threads in Asia-Pacific

Meta has expanded its parental supervision framework to Threads across the Asia-Pacific region, introducing a suite of tools that allow guardians to monitor and restrict teenagers' activity on the text-based social platform. The rollout, which began this week, integrates Threads into Meta's centralized Family Centre, enabling parents to manage usage patterns and privacy settings for users under 16.

Parents can now access detailed insights into their teenagers' daily activity on Threads, including a breakdown of time spent on the platform over the previous week and average daily usage figures. To manage screen time, the system allows guardians to set daily limits and block access entirely during specific hours or days. Meta confirmed that these time limits are calculated based on total usage across multiple devices, preventing users from bypassing restrictions by switching hardware.

For users under 16, the update provides parents with greater authority over account configurations. Guardians can now decide whether their teenagers are permitted to modify specific settings to be less restrictive. Furthermore, the tools grant parents the ability to manage interaction permissions, such as who is authorized to tag their teen in posts, and to approve preferences regarding sensitive content. These features are designed to complement the existing protections inherent in Meta's Teen Accounts, which already enforce private account status and content filtering by default.

Meta has also extended its sleep mode functionality to Threads, allowing parents to regulate nighttime usage. When active, this mode mutes notifications and enables auto-replies between 10 PM and 7 AM. Parents can adjust these parameters to further limit or block access during late-night hours, providing a structured approach to managing digital downtime.

This expansion arrives amid a broader international push for stricter online child safety regulations. Governments in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have recently proposed or implemented measures to restrict social media access for minors, prompting platforms to accelerate the deployment of parental oversight features. Meta stated that it intends to continue developing these tools to provide a unified supervision experience across its entire application ecosystem.