This is how Meta will use AI to identify young people who lie about their age on Instagram

Meta has provided more details about its upcoming artificial intelligence tool that will help identify teenagers who falsify their age on Instagram. According to Bloomberg, this feature, called the “adult classifier,” will automatically apply more restrictive privacy settings to users under 18 years old. The company plans to launch this tool early next year, with the aim of providing a safer online environment for young people.

According to Allison Hartnett, director of product management for youth and social impact at the company, the software will analyze aspects such as the accounts a user follows and the type of content they interact with. If the tool suspects that a profile belongs to a minor, it will automatically be moved to a teen account, regardless of the age the user has registered.

Meta launched teen accounts in September, which limit certain features for users under 16 years old. These accounts are automatically set to private and, for example, restrict sending messages to strangers. Additionally, teenagers cannot modify these settings without parental approval, a measure aimed at preventing unwanted interactions.

Meta has not yet specified the accuracy of the tool in identifying ages, but plans to implement a system of appeal for those who are misclassified. The company will allow teenagers to verify their identity by uploading an official document or using a video selfie with Yoti, a system that estimates age based on facial features and then deletes the content.

This new Meta tool is part of a broader plan to prevent teenagers from falsifying their age. Among the planned measures are the use of device identifiers and the review of accounts created with emails already linked to previous profiles. The measures come months after Europe investigated Instagram and Facebook after considering that they are not doing enough to protect the mental and physical health of minors.