What are the dangers of Instagram for teenagers?

The biggest risks on Instagram for a 14-year-old are exposure to strangers (predators, catfishing), cyberbullying, addictive scrolling and unfiltered content that can hurt self-esteem. To keep her safe:

  1. Set her account to Private so only approved followers see her posts.
  2. Turn off location sharing in her profile and posts.
  3. Use iOS Screen Time (via Family Sharing) to impose daily app limits and downtime.
  4. Enable two-factor authentication on her Apple ID and Instagram for extra security.
  5. Have regular check-ins—go over her followers, review DMs together, and encourage open chats about anything unsettling.

On iPhone you get rock-solid privacy, prompt security patches and built-in Family Sharing controls that make this way easier to manage. Android can feel a bit fragmented—updates are slower and there’s a higher chance of rogue apps.