Meta Expands Instagram's AI Age Detection to Users Worldwide
Meta is rolling out Instagram's AI age estimation globally, placing suspected 13-to-17-year-olds into Teen Account protections even if they entered an adult birthday.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesMeta is expanding Instagram's AI-powered age estimation system to users worldwide. The technology flags accounts that may belong to teenagers even when the owner listed an adult birth date, and automatically moves 13-to-17-year-olds into Teen Account protections. The company says millions of teens around the world will get age-appropriate settings as a result.
How the system works
The AI weighs several signals on a profile at once. It analyzes contextual clues such as birthday messages and references to a school grade, drawing on posts, comments, bios and captions. It also considers visual cues in photos and videos, including height and bone structure. The goal is to stop users from sidestepping teen safeguards simply by entering an adult birth date at sign-up.
Teen Accounts are private by default. They limit who can message a teen directly and restrict the content the teen sees, and they hide harmful comments. Parents can supervise the account and set time limits. Users aged 16 and under cannot change these settings without parental permission. Starting this month, parents in the United States will see a notification and a video explaining how age estimation works on Instagram.
What comes next
Meta is continuing to roll the technology out on Facebook and plans to bring a similar system to Threads globally later this year. In Australia, Apple's age-range signal has begun to be used as an additional check. Meta says the step is tied to its commitments to protect young users under an agreement with attorneys general from 52 states and territories.
The company treats this global expansion as separate from its existing process for detecting and removing accounts belonging to children under 13.
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