According to a recent Meta-commissioned survey, a vast majority of Canadian parents wants app stores to confirm a user’s age before they can download new apps.
According to the poll, 83% of Canadian parents favor policies requiring app stores to validate age when a user downloads an app. This strong sentiment echoes in 81% of non-parents who responded, indicating broad public backing for such a safeguard.
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has voiced long-standing concern over the challenge of knowing who is using its services. Its “Teen Accounts” program, introduced last year, already enforces protective settings by default. But according to Meta, teens now routinely use more than 40 apps per week on average, and parents are asking for consistent protections across the entire app ecosystem.
Under the proposed age-checking system, when Canadian users create an app store account, they would enter their age. If they are under 18, they’d need a verified parent or guardian to approve downloads. Once age is verified, a simple, privacy-respecting “age signal” would be shared with developers, allowing apps to automatically place younger users into safer, age-appropriate settings.
The survey also found broad support for tailored parental controls. Around 82% of respondents believe apps should restrict contact between teens and strangers. About 84% said apps should manage which content teens can see. And 71% agreed that apps should limit how much time teens can spend online.
Meta is also rolling out updates to its Teen Accounts on Instagram in Canada. The company plans to default teen users into a “13+” setting that aligns with PG-13 movie ratings. This means that teens under 18 will only see content comparable to PG-13 films.
An even more restrictive “Limited Content” mode will block more adult-style content and restrict interactions with higher-rated accounts. These content restrictions will apply across Instagram Feed, Stories, Search, and comments.
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