Instagram is a free photo sharing application available on Apple iOS and Android devices. Users can upload photos to our service and share them with friends. They can also view, comment, and like photos shared by their friends on Instagram. There is no private messaging on Instagram. Anyone 13 and older can create an account by registering an email address and selecting a username.

Want to learn more? Here are some of our top articles:

• Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service
• Sign up for an Instagram account
• Delete an account
• Information for Law Enforcement

Anyone signed into the Instagram application can view photos on a public user's Instagram profile. If you would like to make sure only approved users can see your child's photos, we suggest going private. Once you turn on Privacy, anyone who wants to see your child's photos will have to send your child a follow request which they can then approve or ignore.

Your child also has the ability to block other users. When they block another user, the blocked user cannot view your child's photos or search for their Instagram account. The blocked user is not notified when they are blocked. Learn more about blocking users.

We appreciate your concern for your child's use of our application, but unfortunately we cannot give you access to the account or take any action on the account at your request. We are generally forbidden by privacy laws against giving unauthorized access to someone who is not an account holder. Please note that all users ages 13 and older are considered authorized account holders and are included in the scope of this policy.

We ask that all users follow our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. If your teen is running into issues with a particular user on Instagram who is violating these guidelines or terms, your teen can report photos and content directly in Instagram with our built-in flagging feature. This includes nude photos, abuse, and excessive spam. Flagging is totally anonymous; no information about the flagger is sent to the user whose account or photo has been flagged.

1. Tap the "..." below the photo you would like to report and then "Flag as Inappropriate."

1. Tap the "Comment" button below the image, swipe right on the comment you would like to report, then tap the "!" and select "Report Abuse."

Please also talk to your kids and educate them about internet safety. If they are experiencing abuse from other users, ask them to use our privacy setting and blocking.

There are also lots of great online resources with more information for parents on bullying:

• connectsafely.org
• stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
• ncpc.org/cyberbullying
• cyberbullying.us

It is important to note that if your teen is a victim of abusive behavior on our service, we are unable to provide non-public information (like the offending user’s email address) without a search warrant or subpoena from law enforcement. It there is an emergency, we would suggest contacting your local police department. You can find law enforcement information here.

We encourage parents to exercise any discretion they can on their own devices and in overseeing their child's internet use. You might consider using the parental control tools available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store in order to do so. Please use your preferred search engine to find parental controls for your device's application store. If you would like to uninstall Instagram from a device, here are instructions for how to do so on Android and Apple iOS devices.