First Published: 2:10 PM PDT, July 28, 2021 “We still give young people the choice to switch to a public account or keep their current account public if they wish,” Instagram representatives said. All Instagram users 16 years old and younger will now automatically be defaulted into a private profile when creating an Instagram account as the company strives to cultivate a “safer and private” app for everyone. “Creating an experience on Instagram that’s safe and private for young people, but also fun comes with competing challenges,” representatives for Instagram announced in a blog post on Tuesday. “We want them to easily make new friends and keep up with their family, but we don’t want them to deal with unwanted DMs or comments from strangers. We think private accounts are the right choice for young people.”