The mockup gave it a “Highly addictive” flag where a rating category normally sits, plus an information box under About this app setting out what the research says about depression, self-esteem, body image and eating disorder risk. Same principle as the label on a cigarette packet. The warning arrives at the point you decide, before you are in.
Everything since has gone one way. In June 2024 the US Surgeon General called for a tobacco-style warning label on social media. New York has signed a law requiring one for under-18s. And Meta has just settled for $17 billion, with teens blocked from the apps overnight by default.
All of that lives inside the product or in a courtroom. The store listing has not moved. Instagram is 3.9 stars, Editors’ Choice, Contains ads. That is the full disclosure at the moment someone taps Install.
How long until we see these sorts of mandatory warnings for social media apps in the App Store / Play Store?
