Meta is globally introducing artificial intelligence technology that estimates the age of users on Instagram. The system automatically switches teenagers to protected teen accounts, with the aim of ensuring that millions of younger users around the world receive built-in safety measures.
Protection is applied even if users provided a false, adult age when opening their accounts. Meta’s AI system independently analyses and identifies accounts it suspects belong to teenagers, irrespective of the date of birth entered.
Existing special accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger automatically restrict teenagers’ contact with unknown people, filter visible content and reduce time spent in the apps.
The expansion of the technology is part of broader obligations arising from a recent agreement with US state attorneys general. The agreement seeks to improve the identification of teenagers and children under 13 on digital platforms.
Following Instagram, Meta will continue to introduce the same technology on Facebook. A global launch on the Threads platform is scheduled for a later period this year.
Numerous countries have recently been rapidly enacting laws on online safety for young people. These regulations often do not define how technology companies should determine age. Some legal frameworks require invasive identity checks, such as the collection of personal documents, while others offer no guidance.
Meta warns that without the adoption of unified standards across the industry, teenagers remain unequally protected online. Meta has previously called on app store owners, primarily Apple and Google, to take on the responsibility of verifying users’ ages.
