Please read first. This article explains a type of suspension and how a written appeal works. The case we describe comes from a client in Japan, and we have changed the details so that no one can be identified. Many disabled accounts are never restored, and when an account is not restored Meta usually does not reply at all. Nothing here guarantees a result. We are a Gyoseishoshi office in Japan, not attorneys or solicitors.
Many parents run an Instagram account to share a child’s activities: sports, dance, modeling, music or school events. The parent takes the photos, writes the captions and answers the messages. Then one day the account is suspended under the rule that Instagram users must be at least 13. You may even be asked for ID, send your own, and still receive a notice that the account has been permanently disabled.
This article explains what Meta has said about accounts run by adults for children, why these accounts get caught, and what you can do when the app gives you no way to appeal.
What Meta has said
Instagram requires users to be at least 13. A child under 13 may not open and run their own account, and Meta removes accounts it finds are run by such a child.
An account about a child is a different matter. In a July 2025 announcement, Meta wrote that it allows adults to run accounts representing children under 13 if it’s clear in the account bio that they manage the account. The same announcement said that if the account is being run by the child, Meta will remove it. So the question that matters is not whether a child appears in the photos. It is who runs the account.
Why parent-managed accounts get caught
Meta does not explain how it decides that an account belongs to a child. Photos and videos of a young child, posted regularly, can easily look like a child’s own account to an automated system. In the cases we have handled, parents were often surprised by three things:
- Sending the parent’s ID did not settle it. An ID check shows that the person sending it is an adult. It does not, on its own, explain that the adult runs the account for the child.
- The notice gave no detail. It said only that the account still did not follow the rules, without saying which rule or how the ID was assessed.
- The permanent decision came fast, and once it came, there was no appeal button left in the app.
What to do first
- Check the official route first. Read the notice carefully and look at Account Status in the app, or the Help Center if you can’t log in. If you are offered an appeal or an ID check, note any deadline and use it.
- Take screenshots of everything. The suspension screen, the reason, any request for ID, and every email from Instagram.
- Check your bio. Did it say clearly that a parent manages the account? A screenshot from before the suspension, or a note of the exact wording, is useful.
- Collect the account details. Username, the email address and phone number registered to the account, and when it was opened. If you are not sure which email you used, list every likely address and say so.
- Don’t open a replacement account. A new account made after a suspension can be treated as avoiding enforcement.
What a written appeal should cover
When the in-app route is closed, a letter to the company can explain what a short form cannot. Meta’s terms name Meta Platforms, Inc. in the United States as the company that provides Instagram to users in the United States and the United Kingdom. The points we normally organize are:
- Who runs the account. That a named adult parent takes the photos, chooses and posts the content, and handles comments and messages, and that the child does not use the account.
- That the account followed Meta’s published approach. Quote Meta’s July 2025 announcement and show that the bio made clear an adult manages the account.
- That the parent’s ID was already given. If you sent your own ID when asked, it showed that an adult was behind the account, even if it could not show on its own who ran it.
- What the notice left out. No rule was named in detail and no reason was given for rejecting the ID.
- Why an automated error is possible. An account full of photos of a young child can be mistaken for the child’s own account.
- What you are asking for. A review by a person, reinstatement, and willingness to complete any further identity check Meta asks for.
A case from our office in Japan
A parent in Japan ran an Instagram account for their child’s activities, with a note in the bio saying that the parent managed it. The account was suspended under the rule that Instagram users must be at least 13. The parent sent their own photo ID when asked for ID, but soon afterwards received an email saying the account had been permanently disabled. No appeal option was left in the app.
We prepared a letter explaining that the parent ran the account, quoting Meta’s announcement about adult-managed accounts, and listing the account details, including two possible registration email addresses. It was translated into English and mailed inside the United States by USPS Certified Mail to Meta Platforms, Inc.
About four weeks after delivery, the parent received an email from Meta asking for a clear photo of a government ID to review the account. The parent sent it, and a few weeks later the account was back, about two months after the suspension.
This is one case, and we cannot know what part the letter played. We chose this case because it ended in reinstatement; it is not a typical result. Other accounts have taken longer, and many letters lead to no change and no reply.
If Meta contacts you after a letter
In the Instagram cases we have handled, when Meta does respond it has usually done so by email or letter roughly one to two months after delivery. When an account is not restored, there is usually no reply. If you receive a message asking for ID:
- check the sender’s address, and don’t log in through links in the message
- Meta will not ask for your password or a login code; if a message does, or if you are unsure, don’t reply
- send only what is asked for, through a method you have checked
- keep a copy of what you sent and when
What to expect
- No one can guarantee reinstatement. Meta decides, and no letter can force it to act.
- Results and timing differ. The same kind of letter does not bring the same result, or the same wait, for everyone.
- Most of our cases so far have been for clients in Japan. We can’t give you odds for an account in the United States or the United Kingdom.
Frequently asked questions
Is it against the rules to run an Instagram account for my child under 13?
Meta has said that it allows adults to run accounts representing children under 13 if the bio makes clear that the adult manages the account. What it does not allow is a child under 13 running their own account.
I sent my own ID and the account was still disabled. Why?
Meta does not explain its decisions, so we can’t say for certain. An ID check confirms the age of the person sending it, but it may not show that the adult runs the account for the child. A written explanation can fill that gap.
I’m not sure which email address I used to register. Is that a problem?
It helps Meta match the account if you give accurate details. If you are unsure, you can list each likely address and explain that you are not certain which one was used.
Should I change the account so it looks less like a child’s account?
While the account is disabled you can’t change it. If it is restored, keep the bio clear that a parent manages it. In the same announcement, Meta said it would extend extra protections, such as its strictest message settings, to adult-managed accounts that mainly feature children.
Are you lawyers?
No. We are a Gyoseishoshi office in Japan, a licensed legal profession in Japan that is separate from attorneys. We prepare and send documents. We do not give legal advice on US or UK law, negotiate with Meta for you or represent you in court.
Sources: Meta Newsroom, Expanding Teen Account Protections and Child Safety Features (July 23, 2025). Links checked November 2026.