BUFFALO, N.Y. -- This week, Meta launched Instagram Teen Accounts.

Since Tuesday, kids from 13 to 17 years old automatically default to the social media platform's strictest safety settings. Meta safety policy team member Kira Wong O'Connor, who leads on policy partnerships and bullying and harassment, said the company made the changes with guidance and in consultation with parents.

"If you're under 18 and you're using Instagram, you will be automatically be placed into Teen Accounts, which provides these built-in protections like private accounts by default, the ability to only contact and message people whom you're already following and our time management tools which means that after 60 minutes on Instagram Teen Accounts, we will be notifying you with a reminder that you've been on for 60 minutes," Wong O'Connor said.

Kids under 13 are already prohibited from signing up for the website. Meta said it also recognizes all teens are not the same and the new product allows families to customize by age.

Sixteen and 17 year-olds will be able to change defaults themselves while younger teens must now have parental consent.

"As a family you can choose on how you want to set this if you set up parental supervision but parents can really walk away with that peace of mind knowing that their teen is automatically going to be put into these protections if they're under 18," Wong O'Connor said.

In June, New York enacted the SAFE for Kids Act regulating teen access to social media and the state attorney general is currently developing how it will be implemented. Instagram's policy does address one component of the new law with a sleep mode that hides notifications between 10 pm. and 7 a.m.

The governor and AG suggest the legislation may have helped spur the changes.

"They've agreed we're going to let them sleep at night. That's good. That's good. Improve their privacy. It should have been there all along but welcome and also empowering parents to have an idea where their kids are going," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Wong O'Connor said making the site safer for teens is a constant priority for the company. Teen Accounts does not address a major component of the New York legislation which will restrict access to predictive algorithms without parental consent.

Meta maintains the algorithms are a valuable tool to the social media experience but has added a feature allowing teens to select from topics interesting to them to better tailor that experience.