Instagram Tests AI Age Verification For Teen Accounts

Instagram is testing AI to check ages, automatically setting teen accounts to private and restricting content to ensure safer use for kids

Instagram is starting to test a new way to use artificial intelligence to check if kids are lying about their age on the platform, Meta Platforms announced on Monday, as reported by the AP.

Meta has been using AI to determine people’s ages for a while, but Instagram is taking it to the next level, as reported by the AP. The app will “proactively” look for accounts that seem to belong to teens even if they entered a false birth date when signing up. If Instagram’s AI detects that an account likely belongs to a teenager, it will automatically change the account to a “teen account.”

The AP notes that Teen accounts come with extra restrictions. For example, they are set to private by default, and teens can only receive private messages from people they already follow. Content like videos of fights or those promoting cosmetic surgery will be limited for teen users.

Instagram will also alert teens when they’ve been on the app for more than an hour and will activate a “sleep mode” that turns off notifications and sends auto-replies to messages from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The AP reports that Meta trains its AI to look at various signals to determine a user’s age. These signals include the kind of content a user interacts with, their profile details, and when the account was created.

The company believes app stores should be responsible for checking ages, especially amid criticism that social media platforms don’t do enough to protect children or prevent kids under 13 from using their services.

To further support parents, Instagram will also send notifications to alert them about how they can talk to their teens about providing the correct age online.