Over 6 lakh Facebook, Instagram accounts gone overnight in Meta's massive purge. The reason will shock you

In a significant crackdown, Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook has taken down around 600,000 accounts over predatory and exploitative behaviour targeting minors. Meta is stepping up its efforts to protect young users on Instagram and Facebook and it has also announced a slew of new safety features for teen accounts. It is one of the biggest clean-up operations the platform has done in recent times.

According to a report in Business Today, Meta's action includes at least 135,000 accounts flagged for posting sexualised comments or soliciting explicit images, often aimed at children or child-run accounts. Moreover, an additional 500,000 accounts were also taken down for inappropriate interactions, due to inappropriate behaviour with minors. The company said it will share this data with other tech platforms through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern programme to help prevent cross-platform abuse.

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Instagram removes 135,000 accounts

Instagram has taken down around 1.35 lakh accounts saying that they were either posting inappropriate comments or asking for sexual images from accounts. These accounts were run by adults on behalf of minors and they were targeting kids.

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The move by Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta comes amid growing scrutiny of how social media platforms protect young users. Meta faces mounting legal pressure over the mental health impact of its services on children and teens and there has been growing pressure on social media platforms to take action to protect teens.

For instance, lawmakers in the US have been openly calling out apps like Instagram for not doing enough. They argue that these platforms are not just addictive, but potentially damaging — particularly for young users who are vulnerable to cyberbullying, online grooming, and distorted beauty ideals.

Meta introduces new safety measures

Meta has rolled out a series of safety updates focused on shielding teenagers from unwanted contact. These include clearer context about who is messaging them, and new one-tap options to block and report suspicious users.

The company’s latest safety update is focused on preventing “unsafe or unwanted contact,” especially in direct messages. Teen users will now see more context about who they’re chatting with, like when an account was created, plus easy-access options to block and report someone in a single tap, according to Quartz. Teenagers can now block and report accounts in a single action, streamlining the response to unwanted contact.

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A new feature "Location Notice" has also been rolled out by Meta that allows users know if someone they are chatting with might be in another country — something scammers often try to hide. Meta’s nudity protection tool, which automatically blurs suspected explicit images, is now on by default for teen accounts.

Meta is expanding its safety measures to include adult-run accounts that primarily showcase children—such as those managed by parents or talent representatives. These accounts will now default to stricter settings that block messages from strangers and automatically filter offensive comments. Additionally, adults who have been flagged for inappropriate behavior will face greater restrictions in finding or interacting with these profiles.

Meta has also been battling spam and impersonation this year, taking down around 10 million fake accounts that were pretending to be major content creators.