Instagram to use AI to catch teens posing as adults, Meta expands age checks worldwide

If a teenager enters an adult date of birth when creating an Instagram account, it doesn't necessarily mean they will escape the platform’s age-based restrictions. Meta is expanding its artificial intelligence-based age detection technology globally to identify those who may be under 18, even when their registered details suggest they are adults. The development could affect millions of Instagram users as the company attempts to bring more teenagers under its Teen Account safeguards. These accounts come with restrictions on who can contact young users, the content they can access and how much time they spend on the platform.

Meta is also extending its efforts beyond Instagram, with Facebook and Threads included in its wider age-detection plans. The move comes as the company faces increasing legal scrutiny over how its platforms affect children and teenagers.

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What changes for Instagram users?

Meta’s expanded AI system is designed to estimate whether an account belongs to a teenager, even if the user has entered an older date of birth, the company announced the global expansion on November 9.

Users identified as teenagers can be placed under Instagram’s Teen Account protections. These safeguards limit interactions with strangers, restrict access to certain content and introduce controls on screen time. Facebook and Messenger offer similar protections.

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Meta is also using additional methods to estimate users’ ages. In Australia, it has started incorporating Apple’s age-range signal as another source of information. In the US, parents will begin receiving Instagram notifications this month explaining how Teen Account protections work and how they can ensure their children’s ages are recorded accurately.

The expansion is not limited to Instagram. Meta is continuing to roll out its age-detection technology on Facebook and plans to introduce similar technology globally on Threads later this year.

Why Meta is stepping up age detection

The announcement comes against the backdrop of mounting legal challenges over the impact of social media on young users.

In August, Meta reached settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every US state and territory in lawsuits brought by attorneys general over alleged harm to teenagers. The agreements included commitments to improve the identification of teenagers and children under 13.

Last month, Meta also settled a case involving a teenage plaintiff during a trial in Los Angeles. The case involved allegations that Instagram and Facebook were designed to encourage addictive use, contributing to mental health problems and an eating disorder.

With its latest expansion, Meta is attempting to make age-based protections harder to bypass. However, the effectiveness of AI-based age estimation will depend on how accurately the technology can distinguish teenagers from adult users.