News in Short

• Instagram AI age verification is expanding worldwide to identify teen users who enter false adult birthdays.
• Meta says suspected teen accounts can automatically receive Teen Account protections.
• The safeguards include limits on who can contact teens and age-appropriate content recommendations.
• Meta is also using Apple’s age-range signal in Australia as an additional verification method.

Instagram is expanding its AI-powered age estimation technology to more markets worldwide. Meta says the system can identify teenagers who enter an adult date of birth while creating an account. The move aims to ensure younger users receive age-appropriate protections even when their registration details are inaccurate.

The company is also increasing communication with parents. Instagram users in the US will begin seeing in-feed videos later this month explaining how its age checks work.

How Instagram’s AI age verification works

Meta says its AI technology can identify accounts that may belong to teenagers, even when users provide an adult birthday. Instead of relying only on the date of birth entered during sign-up, the system uses signals to estimate a user’s age.

If Instagram suspects an account belongs to a teenager, it can place that account under Teen Account protections automatically. This approach aims to reduce the chances of young users bypassing safety settings by entering a false birth date.

Meta says Teen Accounts are designed for users aged 13 to 17. These accounts include restrictions on who can contact teenagers, age-appropriate content recommendations and default time-management tools. The company also uses technology to identify and block accounts belonging to children under 13.

Meta adds more information for parents

Parents in the US will see an in-feed video explaining how Instagram identifies teenage accounts. The video will link to an article by Larry Magid, President and CEO of internet safety organisation ConnectSafely.

The article outlines Meta’s approach to age assurance, including efforts to keep children under 13 off its platforms. It also explains how the company aims to provide age-appropriate experiences and help parents ensure children enter their correct age during sign-up.

Instagram uses Apple’s age-range signal in Australia

Meta has also started using Apple’s age-range signal in Australia as another way to check whether a user meets an app’s age requirements. Parents setting up a device for a child can allow the app store to share an age range with developers when the child downloads an app.

Meta says it is voluntarily using this signal. The system remains optional for app stores and developers. The company believes a consistent age signal could offer a more privacy-conscious way to verify age across apps.

Meta argues that this approach could reduce the need for every platform to run separate age checks. However, the availability of the signal and its implementation can vary by market and platform.

What the global expansion means for teen users

The expansion strengthens Instagram’s effort to identify teenage users who may have bypassed age restrictions. It also puts more emphasis on automated age estimation alongside information users provide themselves.

Still, AI age estimation is not the same as a verified identity check. Meta has not detailed every market covered by the rollout or explained all the signals its system uses. The company says the goal is to make age-appropriate protections more consistent across its platforms.

Read more about Meta’s Teen Accounts and their safety features.