On Monday, Meta announced a new initiative aimed at enhancing the safety of young users on Instagram by utilizing advanced AI technology to identify accounts belonging to teens who may be misrepresenting their age. This move is part of Meta's ongoing commitment to ensure that the platform remains a safe environment for all users, particularly those under the age of 18.
When Meta detects an account that it suspects belongs to a teen, even if the account claims to be owned by an adult, the platform will transition that user into a restricted Teen Account. This measure is designed to protect younger users by enforcing stricter controls and safeguards. Introduced last year, Teen Accounts offer a tailored app experience with built-in protections specifically for young users.
Teen Accounts automatically apply a series of safety measures, including limitations on who can contact a teen and restrictions on the types of content they can view. Furthermore, teens under the age of 16 require parental permission to change any of these critical settings. This ensures that parents remain involved in their child's online experience, fostering a safer digital environment.
Instagram has been employing AI technology to determine user age for some time; however, the recent announcement confirms that the platform is now actively using this technology to verify that teens are accessing Instagram through the appropriate Teen Accounts. Last year, the company disclosed to TechCrunch its intention to implement these measures, which may include analyzing happy birthday posts and responding to reports from other users as indicators of a user's actual age.
Meta is committed to ensuring the accuracy of its age-detection technology, with the goal of properly categorizing users into Teen Accounts. In the event of any errors, the company provides users with the option to adjust their settings. According to a blog post by Meta, “The digital world continues to evolve and we have to evolve with it. That’s why it’s important that we work together with parents to make sure as many teens as possible have the protective settings that come with Teen Accounts.”
In addition to these measures, Instagram will soon begin sending notifications to parents, providing them with resources on how to engage in conversations with their teens about the importance of sharing accurate age information online. One of the key recommendations for parents is to verify that their teen’s account lists their correct birthday, thereby enhancing the likelihood that the teen is protected under the safety measures of a Teen Account.
This latest announcement comes shortly after Meta rolled out Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. To date, the company reports that it has successfully enrolled over 54 million teens into Teen Accounts worldwide, with an impressive 97% of teens aged 13-15 opting to remain within these protected accounts. This demonstrates Meta's commitment to creating a safer online space for young users across its platforms.
