UPDATE 1-Meta users survey found 19% of young teens on Instagram report seeing unwanted nude images

About 8% of users in the 13 to 15 age group also said they had “seen someone harm themselves or ⁠threaten to do so on Instagram,” according to the deposition. Most sexually explicit images were sent via ⁠private messages between users, ⁠Mosseri said in his deposition, and Meta must consider users’ privacy when reviewing them.

Nearly ‌1 in ​5 users aged 13 to 15 told Meta that they saw “nudity or sexual images on Instagram” that they didn’t want to view, ‌according to a court filing. The document, made public on Friday as part of a federal lawsuit in California and reviewed by Reuters, includes portions of a March 2025 deposition of Instagram head Adam Mosseri.

Mosseri ‌said the company does not share survey results “in general,” adding that self-reported surveys are “notoriously problematic,” according to ‌the deposition. The survey was taken in 2021, said Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is facing allegations from global leaders that the company's products harm young users. In the U.S., thousands of ⁠lawsuits in ​federal and state court accuse ⁠the company of designing addictive products and fueling a mental-health crisis for minors.

The statistic on explicit images came from ⁠a survey of Instagram users about their experiences on the platform, Stone said, and not a review of ​posts themselves. The company in late 2025 said for teen users, it would remove images and ⁠videos “containing nudity or explicit sexual activity, including when generated by AI,” with exceptions considered for medical and educational content.

"We’re proud ⁠of ​the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better," Stone said. About 8% of users in the 13 to 15 age group also said they had “seen someone harm themselves or ⁠threaten to do so on Instagram,” according to the deposition.

Most sexually explicit images were sent via ⁠private messages between users, ⁠Mosseri said in his deposition, and Meta must consider users’ privacy when reviewing them. “A lot of people don't want us reading their messages,” he said.