Instagram partner schools can now post content only their students can view

Meta has recently expanded its school partnership program on Instagram to enable schools to post stories and notes that can only be viewed by their own students. The program, which aims to prioritize student reports of cyberbullying, also includes support for clubs, teams, and other features.

Instagram has faced criticism for its impact on teenage mental health, with internal research showing that it could be harmful to as many as 20% of teenage girls by increasing anxieties about physical attractiveness and popularity. Cyberbullying has been another major issue for teen users of social networks, leading Meta to launch a program to assist schools in addressing the problem.

When schools join the partnership program, Meta promises to prioritize student and staff reports of cyberbullying and provide status updates on the reports as well as notifications when Instagram takes action on them. Schools will also receive channels where they can share updates with parents and students, and school stories and notes that can only be seen by verified students at the school. Students can remove these posts.

In addition, the program includes clubs and teams that anyone in the school can create to serve as a central hub for communicating relevant events and information. A student directory is also available, allowing students to access a list of other students at their school, visible only to other students and teen followers who have reciprocated the follow. Verification of high school students is carried out by UNiDAYS, the same company used by Apple for educational pricing.