Instagram CEO Denies Hiding How Few Teens Used Its ‘Take a Break’ Tool

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri denied that the platform concealed information about the low use its teen safety feature “Take a Break” in a landmark child-safety trial that could have significant consequences for Meta.

Mosseri testified Tuesday in a historic trial in Oakland, California, brought by U.S. states against Meta. The lawsuit accuses the tech giant of designing Facebook and Instagram features to keep young people engaged for as long as possible and contributing to a youth mental health crisis.

According to a report by Reuters, Mosseri disputed allegations by U.S. prosecutors that Instagram deliberately hid low user numbers for features designed to protect teenagers, saying the platform does not “publish every single stat.”

“I am not trying to encourage my team to hide anything,” Mosseri says. “I want to understand how things ‌work. I ⁠can’t think of any time that I’ve encouraged people to bring less information to me.”

Only 1.8% of Teens Use Instagram’s ‘Take a Break’ Feature

Jason Slothouber, a prosecutor for the state of Colorado, questioned Mosseri specifically about Instagram’s Take a Break feature. The tool is designed to encourage teenagers to close Instagram after they have been scrolling for a period of time.

Take a Break became a default feature for all Teen Accounts in October 2024. Before that change, however, Mosseri acknowledged that only a low-single-digit percentage of teenagers were using the feature.

Slothouber pointed to figures showing that just 1.8% of teens had signed up for Take a Break. That figure differed from the one Mosseri highlighted in a December 2021 blog post announcing the feature. At the time, he said that more than 90% of teenage users who turned on Take a Break during early tests continued to keep it enabled.

“Most teens didn’t want it,” Mosseri says in the trial. “We decided to push forward with it anyway.”

Mosseri’s testimony began toward the end of the day on Tuesday and is slated to continue on Wednesday. The case could become one of the most significant legal challenges Meta has faced. The states are seeking as much as $1.4 trillion in penalties, along with changes to the way Facebook and Instagram operate, including limits on features such as like counts and infinite scrolling. If Meta ultimately loses, the case could lead to major changes in how its platforms are designed and how young people use social media.

Image creditsHeader by Anthony Quintano

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