Meta Rolls Out Instagram AI to Accurately Identify Teens Worldwide

Image: TechCrunch · Source

Meta is globally expanding its AI-driven age estimation on Instagram to better detect teen users and apply specialized protections, enhancing safety despite users falsifying birthdates.

Meta has announced a worldwide expansion of its AI-powered age-guessing technology on Instagram, aiming to more accurately identify teenage users and apply appropriate safeguards. This move follows a series of legal challenges accusing the company’s platforms of harming young users.

The new AI capabilities analyze multiple data points across a user’s Instagram profile to estimate age more precisely. These include contextual indicators like birthday celebrations, mentions of school grades, and other clues found in posts, comments, bios, and captions. Additionally, the AI examines visual aspects in photos and videos, such as height and bone structure, to inform its judgments.

Users estimated to be teens are placed into “Teen Account” settings designed to offer a safer experience. These measures involve restricting direct messages to only people the teen follows or is connected to, auto-hiding harmful comments, and setting accounts to private by default.

Meta is extending similar AI age-estimation technology to Facebook and is planning a comparable global rollout for its new app, Threads, later this year.

The announcement follows Meta’s August settlements totaling up to $18 billion with most U.S. states and territories to resolve claims that its platforms endanger adolescents. A key aspect of these agreements requires the company to improve its ability to correctly identify children under 13 and teens aged 13 to 17, regardless of the age the users report.

Meta emphasized its commitment to providing age-appropriate experiences and has started showing U.S. parents an explanatory video within Instagram feeds to communicate how the company protects teen users.

This advancement reflects Meta’s effort to strengthen protections for younger users amid increasing scrutiny and regulatory pressure.