Instagram’s going PG-13, Pinterest’s gone dark, and boys are watching it all...

If you’ve got our Screen Sense Guide, you know we’re always updating it and this weekend was no exception. Think of it like a living, breathing, working document for parents raising kids with phones. We send updates by email weekly, then update the guide too.

Well, this update hit hard. One of the teens on our advisory board gave us a wake-up call: Pinterest (the platform most moms think of as cozy recipes, DIY inspo, and home décor) isn’t what we thought it was.

Behind the pretty boards and perfect pins, Pinterest has a serious child safety problem. Over the past few years, multiple investigations (including a major one by NBC News) revealed that predators have used the platform to collect and organize images of minors (often innocent, family-uploaded photos) into public boards with disturbing, sexualized titles.

The reports led to outrage from parents and lawmakers, who demanded change. Pinterest responded with new policies, stronger reporting tools, more moderators, and stricter rules on nudity and sexualized content. They’ve also added parental passcodes and made accounts for users under 16 private by default.

But the risks are still there. The algorithm that recommends content can still steer users, especially teens, toward inappropriate images, harmful body content, or unsafe external links.

That’s why we’ve just added a major Pinterest update inside the Screen Sense Guide — complete with every available parental control, privacy setting, and step-by-step instruction on how to lock things down and talk to your kids about what they might see.

Because Pinterest may look safe… but it’s algorithm is not built for kids.

Let’s get into everything else parents need to know this week 👇

Instagram Goes PG-13 (Finally)

Meta just announced a major change for teen users: Instagram will now default all accounts under 18 to a PG-13–style experience.

That means any posts, reels, or messages containing strong language, mature themes, risky behaviour, or sexualized content will automatically be filtered out. At least, that’s the goal.

It’s part of Meta’s latest push to make social media “age appropriate” and to repair its reputation after years of criticism over the impact Instagram has on kids’ mental health. The new setting is expected to roll out globally in the coming weeks, and if your teen already has an account, they’ll be prompted to confirm or adjust their content level.

Here’s what you should know:

• Default doesn’t mean perfect: Kids can still choose to opt out of PG-13 mode, so check their settings together.

• AI isn’t magic: These filters rely on automated systems that don’t always get it right. Use this update as a conversation starter: What kind of content do you actually want to see online?

• Age prediction tech is coming: Meta will also start using facial and behaviour-based tools to verify age, even if a user lies when they sign up. (Yes, the robots are watching — but in this case, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.)

What Boys Are Seeing Online — and Why It Matters

Common Sense Media’s new report, Boys and Tech: How Online Experiences Are Shaping Masculinity, paints a sobering picture of what boys are exposed to every day on their screens.

According to the study, 83% of boys ages 11 to 17 say they’ve seen misogynistic or sexist content online, and nearly one in three report seeing this type of content regularly. Many also encounter violent or hyper-masculine influencers who push the idea that dominance and aggression equal strength. And because so much of their online learning happens through algorithms (not teachers or parents) those voices can quickly become their default version of “truth.”

Even more concerning: nearly half of boys in the study said they’ve seen videos that joke about or excuse sexual harassment, and over 60% said they’ve seen creators mock women’s emotions or promote controlling behaviour in relationships. For many boys, especially younger teens, these messages arrive before they’ve built the critical thinking skills to question them.

The result? A steady drip of content that shapes how boys view themselves, their peers, and the opposite sex often without them realizing it’s happening.

Here’s what you can do:

• Co-watch and co-scroll. Sit down with your son once in a while to see what shows up in his feed. Not to police, but to connect and understand.

• Talk about influencers, not just content. Ask, “What do you like about this creator?” or “Do you agree with how they talk about girls or relationships?”

• Model media literacy. Share examples of healthy masculinity, empathy, and respect in the real world — both online and off. We’ve got a few recommendations here and here.

Meet Lemon8: The App You’ve Probably Never Heard Of (But Your Teen Has)

One of our community members recently asked us about Lemon8, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, you’re not alone. It’s the newest social app making waves with teens, and it’s owned by (surprise, surprise) the same company behind TikTok.

Lemon8 looks like a mash-up of Instagram, Pinterest, and lifestyle blogging. All polished photos, “what I eat in a day” posts, aesthetic outfit boards, and wellness routines. On the surface, it seems harmless. Just another visual platform. But here’s what parents should know:

• It’s driven by the same algorithmic model as TikTok, meaning content gets pushed based on engagement, not accuracy or age-appropriateness.

• The app encourages “creator culture”, where teens are rewarded for posting perfect-looking, curated content. This feeds the same body image and comparison traps we see on other platforms.

• Unlike TikTok, there’s less parental oversight and very few built-in content filters.

• And because it’s so new, predators, scammers, and marketers are already taking advantage of the looser safety structure.

Lemon8 may look like just another “aesthetic inspo” app, but it’s another social media rabbit hole dressed up in pastels.

We break it down more in this post — what it is, what to watch for, and how to talk to your teens about it.

This week’s episode gets real about one of the toughest topics out there — keeping our kids safe online. We sat down with anti-trafficking expert Laila Mickelwait, who’s leading an incredible global movement to get child sexual assault material off streaming platforms for good.

Her new book, Takedown, tells the unbelievable true story of how she sparked a movement of more than two million people and together, they pulled off what’s being called “the biggest takedown of content in Internet history.”

As parents, we’re all trying to figure out how to protect our kids in a world that’s constantly online, and this conversation will open your eyes to just how high the stakes are — and how much power we actually have to make change.

⚠️ Note: This episode dives into some heavy, sensitive topics — it’s not for everyone. But if you want to learn more or follow Laila’s work, check out @lailamickelwait.

Listen here 

Before You Go — Can You Spot the AI?

Let’s end on something a little lighter (but still mind-blowing).
We’ve been talking a lot about fake images and videos showing up in our kids’ feeds, but how good are you at telling what’s real and what’s AI-generated?

Play the “Spot the AI” Game

It’s a quick, family-friendly quiz from Common Sense Media that tests your eye — and trust us, it’s harder than it looks. Play it with your kids, make some guesses, and see who wins bragging rights as the “real-life detector” in your house.

Because at the end of the day, the best way to keep our kids smart online is to learn right alongside them.

Catch you next week!

—Cat & Nat