Instagram: the "Take a break" tool was used by only 1 to 2% of teenagers

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri admitted in a US court on Tuesday that the social network knew its "Take a Break" feature, designed to encourage teenagers to reduce their screen time, was rarely used. Publicly presented in 2021 as an effective protective measure, the feature was activated by only 1 to 2% of minors, according to figures presented during Meta's trial in California.

At the time, Adam Mosseri had touted the feature's success, claiming that over 90% of teenagers who had enabled reminders kept them. When questioned by District Attorney Jason Slothouber about the low activation rate, the executive acknowledged that Meta was aware of this but hadn't disclosed it in his blog post. The company ultimately decided to automatically activate the tool starting in 2024, even though its own data showed that "most teenagers didn't want it."

Underutilized protective tools

The prosecution also relied on internal documents to question Meta's strategy regarding these features. A 2023 report notably shows that the company had limited notifications promoting its protection tools in order to "minimize the impact on the ecosystem," even though time spent on Instagram is a major factor in its advertising-based business model. At that time, only a third of minors were aware of the "take a break" feature, while parental controls were used by less than 1% of teenagers.

The trial focuses more broadly on accusations from several US states, which accuse Meta of misleading parents about the risks associated with Facebook and Instagram and of downplaying the potentially addictive nature of its platforms for minors. Adam Mosseri was also confronted with an internal presentation from 2023 in which a statistic about teenagers' exposure to certain prohibited content had been removed before its presentation. The four states initiating the proceedings are seeking penalties of up to $200 billion as well as a complete overhaul of Facebook and Instagram. The jury's verdict is expected in late September or early October, before a ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.