Instagram extends AI age detection worldwide to move suspected teens into Teen Accounts
Accounts flagged as teenagers will get default privacy limits even when they signed up with a false adult birthday.
Meta is extending its AI age estimation system worldwide to find Instagram users it suspects are teenagers, including those who signed up with a false adult birthday, and move them into Teen Account protections. The tool looks at profile context such as birthday posts or school-grade mentions, and at visual cues like height and bone structure in photos, and it has already run in the US, EU and Brazil. Accounts placed in the teen setting are private by default, can receive direct messages only from people they follow or are connected to, and cannot have their settings changed by users aged 16 or under without parental approval. In Australia, Meta has also begun using Apple's age-range signal as an extra detection input. The rollout comes after Meta agreed in August to settlements worth up to $18 billion with US states and territories over claims its platforms harm teens, and Meta says it will start notifying parents in the US next month and bring similar tools to Threads later this year.
Why it matters
Teens who gave an adult birthday will now be moved into the stricter Teen Account settings without having to correct their age themselves. Users aged 16 or under cannot change those settings without a parent's approval, so the default protections now apply to a wider group than before. Parents in the US will be told about the process in Instagram notifications, and Meta plans to bring similar tools to Threads later this year.
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