Meta is expanding its Meta AI age checks to Instagram users around the world, using artificial intelligence to spot teenagers and move them into Teen Account protections even when the birth date on their profile says they are adults.
The company announced the global rollout on Monday, saying it will place millions more teens into the safer settings. The move comes as Meta faces a wave of lawsuits accusing its apps of harming young users.
What Changes for Instagram Teens
Teen Accounts, available on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, automatically limit who can contact a teenager, what kind of content they see and how much time they spend on the apps. Until now, many teens could avoid these limits simply by entering an older birth date when signing up.
With the expanded Meta AI age checks, the system estimates a user’s age from signals on their account and switches suspected teens to the protected settings, whatever age they typed in.
- Global rollout: AI age estimation on Instagram is being expanded worldwide.
- Parents in the US: will start getting Instagram notifications this month explaining how their teen was placed into age-appropriate settings.
- Australia: Meta has started using Apple’s age-range signal as an extra way to estimate users’ ages.
- Facebook and Threads: the rollout continues on Facebook, and similar technology is due on Threads later this year.
Why Meta Is Moving Now
Meta has been under heavy legal pressure over teen safety. In August, it agreed to settlements worth up to $18 billion with nearly every US state and territory over lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, and promised to improve how it identifies teens and children under 13. Last month it also settled with a teenage plaintiff in a Los Angeles trial that tested claims that Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive.
How Meta AI Age Checks Affect You
For families in Pakistan, where Instagram is among the most used apps by young people, the change means a teen who lied about their age may suddenly find their account made private, messages from strangers restricted and some content hidden. Parents can expect more prompts and controls, while adults who are wrongly flagged may be asked to verify their age.
What Happens Next
Meta says the rollout will reach more users over the coming months, with Threads next in line. Regulators in several countries are also pushing for stricter age verification on social media, so more checks of this kind are likely across the industry.
For official updates, visit the Meta Newsroom website.
Read More: Meta $25bn Penalty Ordered in New Mexico Case
Follow the TaazaTaren channel for the latest updates.
