Meta has broadened the capabilities available to educational institutions within Instagram’s School Partnership Program, introducing new tools for school clubs, teams, and administrators to communicate with verified students.
Launched last year, the initiative was designed to help teens dealing with bullying and harassment. Meta promised that reports submitted by partner schools would be prioritized in its moderation queue and responded to within 48 hours. Now, the platform is adding structural features to foster safer, school-specific digital environments.
Under the updated program, schools can create clubs and teams that act as centralized hubs for information and event announcements. Both admins of these groups and the overarching partner program administrators for a school can now publish Instagram Stories and Notes. These posts are restricted so that only students who have verified their enrollment can view them.
To ensure authenticity, Meta partnered with the identity verification service UNiDAYS. Once a student’s identity is confirmed, they gain access to exclusive features, including a school directory listing other verified peers and the option to add a school banner to their profile, which is visible only to followers they have accepted back.
Additionally, school administrators can establish Channels to share important updates with the broader school community, including parents and teachers. These new features are rolling out to users today.
I worry about the privacy implications of linking UNiDAYS data. Is this really better than just better moderation?
Finally, a safe digital space for students. Verified accounts mean no strangers, which is huge for bullying prevention.