ASTANA  –  Meta has announced the global expansion of its enhanced Teen Account content settings across Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, introducing new measures aimed at providing younger users with a safer and more age-appropriate online experience. According to a wire service, the company said the new default “13+” content setting, first launched for Instagram Teen Accounts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada last year, will now be available worldwide across its major platforms. The setting is designed to limit teens’ exposure to inappropriate content while restricting interactions with accounts, pages, groups and events that primarily share material deemed unsuitable for younger audiences. On Facebook, the safeguards apply to areas such as Feed and Reels, while Messenger will limit teens’ access to links leading to inappropriate Facebook content and reduce their ability to communicate with accounts that regularly post such material. Meta also plans to introduce a stricter “Limited Content” option on Facebook and Messenger later this year. According to the company, most teenagers have remained in the default setting since its launch. Meta said it has also collected feedback from hundreds of thousands of parents worldwide, who have reviewed more than 15 million pieces of content. In its latest survey, conducted in April among parents in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, fewer than 2 percent of Facebook posts recommended to teens were considered inappropriate by a majority of respondents. Meta is also testing a new Instagram feature designed to prevent teenagers from repeatedly encountering similar types of content. The company noted that topics such as nutrition, weightlifting or coping with anxiety can be useful but should be balanced with a broader range of content. The feature is being tested across Explore, Feed and Reels to reduce excessive repetition of such posts. Earlier, the wire service reported that Malaysia began enforcing rules barring millions of children younger than 16 from having social media accounts.

ChatGPT tops 1b monthly users in record time

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has become the fastest application in history to surpass one billion monthly active users, according to new data released by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that ChatGPT reached the milestone roughly three years after its launch, outpacing some of the world’s most widely used digital platforms. For comparison, apps such as Google Maps, Google Chrome, YouTube, Messenger and TikTok took between five and eight years to exceed one billion users through their mobile apps. The report comes after ChatGPT reached 900 million weekly active users in December 2025. OpenAI has not publicly updated those figures since then. Competition in the artificial intelligence sector, however, continues to intensify. According to Sensor Tower, Google’s AI assistant Gemini reached 900 million monthly active users last month, while AI chatbots Claude and Grok recorded 56 million and 50 million monthly active users, respectively. “Claude’s growth could be driven by significant model advancements (and enhanced capabilities) in the past year or rising consumer sentiment after the announcement of OpenAI’s partnership with the Department of War in 1Q26,” Sensor Tower said. The firm also found that US users who installed both ChatGPT and Claude spent 31 percent more time on Claude, suggesting growing competition among leading AI platforms despite ChatGPT’s record-breaking growth. Earlier, the US state of Florida had filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, alleging that the company exposed children to harmful content and failed to adequately prevent the misuse of ChatGPT.