Meta has announced the global expansion of its artificial intelligence technology designed to identify teenagers who may have misrepresented their age online and place them in age-appropriate Teen Account protections.
The technology aims to identify users suspected of being teenagers, even when they have entered an adult date of birth during account registration. Following its initial rollout, Meta says it has seen an increase in the number of teenagers receiving age-appropriate protections and is now extending the technology to more markets worldwide.
Teen Accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger provide built-in safety features designed to create more age-appropriate online experiences. These protections automatically limit who can contact teenage users, the content they can access and the amount of time they spend on the platforms.
Meta said ensuring teenagers receive these protections depends on accurately identifying their ages, which remains an industry-wide challenge. Some young users misrepresent their dates of birth to access platform experiences intended for adults.
To address this issue, the company uses AI technology to identify accounts that may belong to teenagers by analysing signals beyond the date of birth provided during registration. Users identified as potentially underage can then be placed in Teen Account protections, even if they have entered an adult birthday.
The global expansion is expected to bring these safeguards to millions more teenagers using Instagram. Meta said the approach is intended to provide parents with greater peace of mind by proactively applying age-appropriate protections regardless of where teenagers live.
The company is also continuing to roll out the technology on Facebook. Meta plans to begin introducing similar technology globally on Threads later this year.
The expansion forms part of Meta’s broader efforts to improve online safety for younger users through age detection technology and platform-level protections.
