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Meta executive testifies teen opt-in for Instagram safety tool was tiny
The “Take a Break” feature required opt-in, and Volichenko’s team found fewer than 0.2% of teen users enabled it and took the suggested 10-minute time-out.
Insurance Journal reports that a former Meta Platforms data scientist, George Volichenko, testified in federal court that Instagram’s “Take a Break” safety tool initially saw extremely low teenage adoption.
Volichenko said the feature, which prompts a 10-minute break after users spend more than a set amount of time in a single session, was not enabled by default at the time and required teens to opt in. He testified that his team found that less than 0.165% of teen users enabled it and actually took the break, and that a later review showed the rate rising to about 0.2%.
Volichenko also told the jury that the tool’s early impact was disappointing, and he attributed that outcome to a lack of interest from Meta leadership in advancing safety features that could reduce the company’s key performance metrics.
The case centers on claims by a coalition of attorneys general that Meta exploited youths for profit through social media engagement, while Meta says it is continually improving tools for children and parents to curb problematic use across platforms including Instagram and Facebook.