// THE VERGE — MOBILE & WEB
Instagram’s AI age detection is expanding globally
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Meta says it will expand Teen Account protections to millions more kids, even if they’ve misrepresented their age.
Meta says it will expand Teen Account protections to millions more kids, even if they’ve misrepresented their age.
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Meta is globally expanding the age estimation technology it uses to find teenagers on Instagram who haven’t correctly disclosed their age. The rollout will automatically place “millions more teens on Instagram into Teen Account protections,” according to Meta’s announcement, after launching the AI-powered age assurance updates in the US, EU, and Brazil last year.
The age detection tools proactively look for signals that likely determine whether Instagram users are under 18 years old, such as the other profiles and types of content they interact with, birthday messages they receive, and “general themes and visual cues” from uploaded photos and videos, including height and bone structure. Meta says that it’s also started using Apple’s age-range signal as an additional detection method in Australia.
The age assurance system is used to remove Instagram users who are believed to be under 13 (the minimum age required for Meta social accounts), and automatically place users between 13-17 under more restrictive Teen Accounts, even if they signed up using a fake adult birthday. Teen Accounts are designed to provide a safer and more age-appropriate experience by being private by default, limiting what kind of content teens can see, and preventing strangers from sending them DMs.