Meta expands AI age checks for Instagram teens worldwide

Meta says it has accelerated youth protection initiatives by deploying its Meta AI age estimation technology worldwide on Instagram. The system automatically identifies users aged thirteen to seventeen who have deliberately misstated their age during account registration, and such accounts will be moved into restricted Teen Account status.

Meta also indicates plans to roll out automated age-detection tools to Threads and Facebook, expanding the scope of its age-verification efforts amid heightened regulatory scrutiny over child safety.

The article explains that Meta combines behavioural cues with computer vision to assess age, examining signals such as friend interactions, birthday greetings, and facial markers visible in posted imagery. It notes that in Australia the company voluntarily adopted Apple’s system-level age-range API to corroborate identity metrics, while stating that Meta still views voluntary OS signals as leaving safety gaps and calls for standardised age verification across mobile app stores.

The piece also cites mounting legal pressure, citing a reported seventeen‑billion‑dollar settlement with fifty‑two state attorneys general in August 2026 to curb algorithmic addiction and proactively ban underage use, alongside New Mexico civil penalties earlier in the year related to child safety and data practices. Meta frames automated age verification as a decisive step to restore regulatory credibility and improve protections for younger users.