Instagram Expands AI Age Detection Globally to Automatically Restrict Teen Accounts

Meta is rolling out its AI-driven age estimation technology globally across Instagram. The system is designed to detect underage users who misrepresented their age during registration and automatically apply strict safety protections.

According to Meta, the global expansion will automatically place "millions more teens on Instagram into Teen Account protections." The feature initially launched last year in the United States, the European Union, and Brazil.

How the AI System Detects Age

Meta’s age assurance tools proactively analyze multiple behavioral and visual signals to determine whether an account holder is likely under 18 years old. These signals include:

• The types of content and profiles a user interacts with.
• Birthday messages and comments received from other users.
• General themes and visual cues in uploaded photos and videos, such as height and bone structure.

In Australia, Meta has also begun incorporating Apple’s age-range signal as an additional verification layer.

If the AI system identifies accounts belonging to children under 13—the platform's minimum age requirement—those accounts are removed. For users identified between the ages of 13 and 17, Instagram automatically shifts them into Teen Accounts, even if they initially signed up using an adult birthdate.

Teen Account Restrictions and Parental Supervision

Instagram's Teen Accounts are configured with stricter safety defaults. Accounts are set to private automatically, content exposure is restricted, and direct messages from strangers are blocked.

Under the platform's rules, users aged 16 or younger cannot alter these protective settings without explicit permission from a parent or guardian. Parents can also supervise accounts to track usage habits and enforce daily time limits. Meta stated that US parents will receive an in-app notification next month outlining how the age estimation process works and how to verify their teenager’s correct age.

Regulatory Pressure and Broader Rollout

The worldwide expansion comes on the heels of a $17.1 billion lawsuit settlement reached in August, under which Meta committed to strengthening age verification practices and tightening restrictions on adolescent accounts.

While Instagram's detection features are now going global, Meta has not yet confirmed whether the automatic age assurance tools deployed to US Facebook accounts in May will expand to international markets.