How it works
Users connect with friends, join interest-based ‘groups’, or follow ‘pages’. Private messages via the Messenger app use end-to-end encryption (only the sender and receiver can see the message). Features include 24-hour stories, a personalised ‘feed’, videos (Reels), livestreaming, gaming, shopping, and dating. Adults can pay to remove adverts and prevent data use for advertising.
Meta’s digital assistant is called Meta AI. On mobile devices, Facebook users can use Messenger to text chat with Meta AI, ask for information or create content to share (and for 18+ accounts, this data and public posts are retained by Meta, to improve Meta AI, unless they fill out an objection form).
Facebook requires user profiles to be a person’s name. Under-18s have stronger defaults: accounts are private and location sharing is off by default. Under-16s use ‘Teen Accounts’, requiring parental approval to make profiles, posts, or friend lists public.
Parental controls or safety settings available
Facebook does provide some additional parental oversight. With agreement from their child (aged under 18), parents can set up ‘Supervision’ for their child’s Facebook and Messenger accounts. This allows them to:
• View contacts, blocked users, privacy settings, and content preferences
• Monitor time spent
• Set daily limits or breaks
Safety settings allow users to control who contacts them, hide ‘like’ counts, set payment pins, and limit data sharing with search engines or advertisers.
