“How do you fix this?”: Adam Mosseri presented with a literal wall of code words teens use to circumvent Instagram’s algorithm during interview

Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, was a guest on the October 14 edition of TODAY, where he discussed the app’s new policies for keeping teen users safe while using Instagram.

Platforms under pressure to ensure young people’s safety

In response to concerns about the impact of social media on the health and well-being of teens, Instagram is implementing new restrictions for teen accounts, including safety protocols and parental controls designed to limit teens’ exposure to sensitive topics.

According to Mosseri, Instagram’s criteria used for determining age-appropriate content for teens is guided by the PG-13 rating pioneered by the entertainment industry.

Mosseri told TODAY, “The goal is to create an experience that people and teens find valuable to help teens connect with their friends, to explore their interests… Our responsibility is to maximize positive experiences and minimize negative experiences.”

He said new safety features for teen accounts on Instagram can be accessed by both parents and kids. “We’ve got a lot of tools not just for parents, but for teens directly, that try and focus the experience on what’s more positive.”

Words used to trick the algorithm presented on screen

During the interview, TODAY host Craig Melvin tossed to a giant wall on the TODAY Show set featuring a list of words they allege teens use to avoid penalization from Instagram.

Melvin listed some of the code words teens are using to access restricted content on the app for Mosseri. He said, “Tomato sauce means blood, accountant means sex worker… barcode means self-harm wounds and body dysmorphia.”

Other keywords on the wall of code words included glorp, l3mon, bonespo, and ouid. More recognizable words, presumably used to mean different things in other contexts, also made the list: candles, vitamins, camping, and snow.

He then pointed out that if teenagers know restrictions exist, they’ll invent ways to get around the rules. He asked Mosseri, “How do you fix this?”

Mosseri replied that teens and non-teens alike will try to circumvent policies if they want to. “People who want to circumvent our content policies, our rules are going to try to come up with code words that try to get around our detection,” he said. “Which is why for us the work never ends.”

He said the app will monitor connections among content and accounts so the data can inform system updates that make the platform “more and more safe over time.”

Parents respond to the news

Some parents discussed Instagram’s new content restriction policies across social media. Many applauded the movie, with one sharing that it “should have always been this way.”

However, many offered their own suggestions and insults about the platform.

“Or parents just take it away! There’s no way to stop content. So just take the app away. Make it an 18+ plus thing. Better verification of age should be required,” said one.

“How about keep them off social media until high school?!? I promise. It’s doable,” added a commenter.

“One teeny tiny step that should’ve been there all along…not sure if I’ll ever trust tech’s ‘protective’ measures or intentions,” suggested an Instagram user.

Another summarized, saying, “It’s about time, but there are a lot of problems with Meta, period.”

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