Through supervision in Meta’s Family Center — not a hidden app. A parent can see a teen’s Facebook friends, Messenger contact list and who they’ve blocked, manage daily limits and sleep mode, and approve or deny requests to make settings less protective. The teen can see the same information the parent sees. Supervision is for ages 13–17 (14–17 in some regions) and isn’t available in all regions.
Go to familycenter.facebook.com/dashboard and log in. It’s where you view the profiles you supervise on Facebook and Messenger and change supervision settings.
One invitation covers all your teen’s Meta accounts in one place.
Teen Accounts start with a reminder to close Facebook after 60 minutes a day and sleep mode from 10 PM to 7 AM. With supervision you manage your teen’s time and can make these settings even more protective.
With supervision on a Teen Account, changes that make settings less protective need your approval, unless you’ve let your teen change them alone.
Meta’s advice to parents: be clear with your teen about how you will use supervision to set limits and look at their activity.
No supervision: Teen Account defaults apply; nothing is shared with a parent through supervision.
| Item | With supervision |
|---|---|
| Facebook friends | The parent can see them |
| Messenger contact list | The parent can see it |
| Who the teen has blocked | The parent can see it |
| Time on Facebook | Daily limit and sleep mode, set by the parent |
| Settings made less protective | The parent approves or denies — unless the teen may change settings alone |
| Topics asked of Meta AI | The parent can see them for the last seven days |
| Content of end-to-end encrypted chats | Not on the supervision list; the people in the chat — who may still share a message |
Facebook and Messenger users aged 13 to 17 get these automatically:
An app built to get into a device or account in secret fits Facebook Help’s description of malicious software: it can collect information and take unwanted actions on the account. Supervision works inside the account instead, and the teen can see what the parent sees. The guide to “Facebook spy apps” covers the signs and how to remove one.
Meta calls open and honest conversations about your teen’s online use the most impactful way to keep it positive — supervision is a tool for that, not a replacement. In practice:
Teen Accounts also have protections of their own: tagged posts need the teen’s review before they appear on the profile, and live broadcasting is off for everyone under 18 — under 16, turning it on needs a parent’s supervision.
Supervision is for teens aged 13 to 17 — 14 to 17 in some regions — and it is not currently available in all regions. Meta describes the Teen Account protections above for Facebook and Messenger users aged 13 to 17; its 13+ content settings are rolling out in phases.
Supervision shows friends, Messenger contacts, blocks, time and settings — message content isn’t on the list. The content of end-to-end encrypted chats is readable by the people in them, not by Meta — though anyone in a chat can share a message on.
Yes. A supervised teen can open Family Center and see the information their parent sees.
Teens aged 13 to 17, or 14 to 17 in some regions.
Facebook friends or other connections, such as people they’ve messaged before. People with their phone number can send message requests.
With supervision on a Teen Account, making a setting less protective needs your approval — unless you’ve allowed them to change settings on their own.
At familycenter.facebook.com/dashboard, after you log in.