Meta has rolled out an updated age detection system across its platforms, using artificial intelligence to identify underage users on Instagram and Facebook. The new tools scan uploaded photos and videos for visual cues such as height and bone structure to estimate a user’s age — without using facial recognition technology. Meta was careful to distance the system from facial recognition, a practice it abandoned in 2021 following significant user backlash.
How the Detection System Works
Beyond visual analysis, Meta’s system also examines text-based signals — including posts, comments, bios, and captions — for mentions of birthdays or school grades. When an account is flagged as potentially underage, it is deactivated until the holder provides proof of age. The company is also streamlining user reporting tools, so others can flag suspected underage accounts more easily, and improving detection of banned users attempting to create new accounts.
Expanding Across More Regions
Meta’s proactive teen detection technology, already active in select markets, will now expand to Brazil and 27 additional EU countries. In the United States, parents on Facebook and Instagram will begin receiving prompts to verify their teens’ listed ages within the apps.
These moves come under mounting regulatory pressure. The European Commission recently found Meta’s age-verification systems inadequate under the Digital Services Act, while New Mexico legislators proposed stricter penalties for failures to keep minors off the platforms.
Despite these advances, experts caution that no system is foolproof — teenagers continue to find creative workarounds, underscoring the need for digital literacy education alongside technological enforcement.