What Is Supervision on Instagram

Supervision is a recently introduced feature/tool on Instagram that enables parents to monitor their kid’s social media presence. With Supervision enabled, you have access to various types of data about your kid’s account activity. Plus, it also provides some additional tools to limit your kid’s access to Instagram. Here are some things you can do with Supervision on Instagram as a parent or even as a kid. If you are a parent, you can:

Set a time limit for Instagram usage Set scheduled breaks View how much time your kid is spending on Instagram View which accounts they’re following View accounts that are following your kids View which accounts are blocked by your kid View their privacy settings, content sensitivity settings See who can message your kids See who can add your kid to a messaging group

Additionally, parents will receive notifications in their own Instagram activity feed every time these settings are changed by their kid. If you are a kid, you can:

See a preview of what parents can see in the Family Center See a preview of what parents see when supervising Report someone on Instagram and notify your parents

Set up Supervision on Instagram

Supervision can be enabled or set up by both parents and kids. To set up supervision, you need to send an invite to either your kid or your parent and they need to accept it. Let’s learn how to do so from both perspectives. But first, here are the eligibility criteria: Eligibility Criteria for Parents and Kids:

Parent must be at least 18 years old Both parent and kid must agree to be supervised The kid should be between 13-17 years old

How effective these criteria will be is anybody’s guess though.

Send Invitation From Parent’s Instagram Account (and Accept from Kid’s)

If you are a parent who wants to invite his/her kid to set up Supervision on Instagram, then here are the steps to follow.

  1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone and tap on the profile tab.
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines).
  3. From the list of options tap on Settings.
  4. Now tap on Supervision.
  5. Tap on Add account under the “Accounts that you supervise” section.
  6. Tap on Create invitation.
  7. Share sheet will open in front of you. Tap on Copy. Tip: Whether you are on iOS or on Android, after tapping on Create invitation, the share sheet will open for you on your respective OS. Tap on the copy option and follow along.
  8. Now open your kid’s DM on Instagram and paste the link and tap on Send. Tip: You can also share the invite link with your kid via other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. Note: Any invitation link that has been created expires after 48 hours. After a link expires, you can create the invitation link again and share that one again with your kid. You’ve successfully sent the invite to your kid. For the next part, the setup must be completed by your kid’s side. Let’s take a look at the steps to invite a supervision request on Instagram from parents.
  9. Open your parent’s DM and tap on the invite link.
  10. Tap on Next.
  11. Tap on Allow to confirm your parent supervising your account. Now Supervision feature has been set up successfully. Tip: If you have received a Supervision request from an unknown account, you can also tap on Decline here to reject the request.

Send Invitation From Kid’s Instagram Account (and Accept from Parent’s)

If you are a kid who wants to invite his/her parent to supervise your account, then here are the steps to follow.

  1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone and tap on the profile tab.
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines).
  3. Now tap on Settings.
  4. Tap on Supervision.
  5. Now tap on Next.
  6. Tap on Create invitation to create a new invitation.
  7. Share sheet will open, tap on Copy. Tip: Whether you are on iOS or on Android after tapping on Create invitation, the share sheet will open for you on your respective OS. Tap on the copy option and follow along.
  8. Now open the DM of your parent or guardian and paste the invite link there and tap on Send. Tip: You can also share the invite link with your parent via other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. Note: As noted before, any Instagram supervision invitation link that has been created and sent expires after 48 hours but can be recreated and sent again. Now the invite has been sent to the parent, for the next part, let’s take a look at the steps from the parent’s side on how to accept a supervision invite on Instagram.
  9. Open your kid’s DM in which you have received the link.
  10. Tap on the invite link to begin.
  11. Tap on Next.
  12. On the next page, tap on Accept Invitation to accept the supervision.
  13. Tap on Done. Since the invite has been sent from the kid’s side, it will be completed from his end. Let’s take a look at the final steps to set up the Supervision.
  14. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone and tap on the activity tab (heart icon).
  15. Tap on the Supervision notification to start.
  16. Now tap on Allow to confirm and let your parent supervise your account. Tip: If you don’t want anyone to supervise your account, you can also tap on Decline from the same page. Quick Tip: Learn How to Add Story to Highlights on Instagram.

Cancel Supervision Invitation on Instagram

If by mistake, you sent the invitation to the wrong person, then here are the steps to cancel an Instagram Supervision invite.

From Kid’s Account

Let’s take a look at the steps of how to cancel the Supervision invite from the kid’s account (if generated from the kid’s side).

  1. Open the Instagram app and tap on the profile tab.
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu.
  3. Now tap on Settings.
  4. Tap on Supervision to begin.
  5. Supervision invite page will open, tap on Cancel invitation.
  6. A pop-up will appear on the screen, tap on Cancel invitation to cancel the Supervision invitation.

From Parent’s Account

Let’s take a look at the steps to cancel the Supervision invite from the parent’s account (if generated from the parent’s side).

  1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone and tap on the profile tab.
  2. Tap on the hamburger menu.
  3. Now tap on Settings from the available options.
  4. Tap on Supervision to begin.
  5. Tap on Add account under the “Accounts that you supervise” section.
  6. Now tap on Cancel Invitation.
  7. Again tap on Cancel Invitation to confirm the cancellation of the Supervision invite.

Instagram Supervision: A Much-Needed Feature

Supervision is a much-needed feature that helps you to be aware of your kid’s presence on Instagram. Supervision can help you in supporting your kid by providing you access to various information and insights about his/her account and account activity. Just follow the steps mentioned above to set up Supervision for your kid’s Instagram account. I hope this guide was helpful to you in understanding Instagram and Supervision. Did you know that you can display a quick message to all on Instagram? Learn how to post Notes on Instagram.