Expanding Teen Account Protections to Teens Around the World
Meta expands global Teen Account protections using AI to detect underage users, even with falsified birthdays, and urges industry-wide adoption of consistent age verification methods.
Meta has used AI to identify teens who may have misrepresented their age on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, placing them in built-in protections that limit contacts, content, and screen time. The company reports progress in expanding these protections and now plans to roll them out globally on Instagram, with similar technology coming to Threads later this year. The move aims to ensure more teens receive age-appropriate safeguards regardless of their stated birthdate.
Parents will see an in-feed video on Instagram in the United States explaining how the platform identifies teens for age-appropriate protections. The video links to an article by Larry Magid, an internet safety advocate, outlining Meta’s layered approach to age assurance, including keeping children under 13 off the platform and encouraging parental involvement in accurate age reporting.
In Australia, Meta has begun using Apple’s age-range signal to help determine a user’s age when a parent sets up a smartphone for their teen. The signal, shared by Apple’s App Store, indicates an age range that apps like Instagram can use to confirm eligibility, though Meta notes this method remains optional for both app stores and developers.
Meta emphasizes the need for consistent, privacy-preserving age verification across the industry, calling on peers like TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar practices. The company argues that a single verified signal from devices would be more effective than individual platforms verifying age separately, reducing reliance on invasive methods such as government IDs.