Instagram will let parents set time limits on their children’s use in an attempt to counter claims it keeps young users addicted to the app.

Parents of users under 18 will be able to enforce breaks, monitor who follows their children as well as who they follow, and set a limit on how long they spend on Instagram.

Parents will also receive an alert when their child reports an account or post. Teenagers will also receive “nudges” if they have been looking at a certain type of content repeatedly.

The changes were introduced following revelations last year that Instagram’s own research showed it could be harmful for teenagers.

Ministers are introducing online harms legislation designed to make the internet safer for younger users.

Instagram introduced the parental control features in the US in March and is bringing them to the UK and other countries this month.

Either parents or children will be able to send a request for parental supervision, although the child will be able to shut it off at any moment. The monitoring will automatically turn off when users turn 18.

Instagram asks for users ages in an attempt to prevent under 13s from using the app, although many younger users bypass the controls.

Parents will be able to set specific times of the day or week when they want their child to be able to use the app. They could shut off access late at night, for example. Daily time limits will range from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

They will need their own Instagram account to be able to monitor their children’s activity.

Instagram, owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, has been battling claims that it is harmful to children since documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen last year.