Instagram will use AI to detect teens worldwide who hid their age: what will change

Meta is rolling out worldwide the artificial intelligence technology that estimates users’ ages on Instagram and automatically applies restrictions to teen accounts.

The company announced this.

The system will be able to detect users aged 13 to 17, even if they provided a false birth date to use the social network without age restrictions.

Meta already uses AI to identify accounts that may belong to teens. To do this, the company analyzes account information and looks for signals that may indicate a user’s age.

Photo: Meta

Previously, Meta explained that its technologies analyze contextual information in profiles, including mentions of birthdays and school attendance. To detect children under 13, the company also uses separate image-analysis tools.

If the system determines that an account may belong to a teen, Instagram will automatically apply Teen Account settings to it — even if the user stated they are 18 or older.

Such accounts will have additional restrictions:

• default private profile so outsiders cannot view posts without permission;
• limits on direct messages from strangers;
• filtering of potentially inappropriate content;
• a reminder to take a break after 60 minutes of app use;
• turning off notifications at night.

Teens under 16 will also need parental permission to relax the imposed restrictions.

Meta introduced Teen Accounts on Instagram back in 2024 and later extended them to Facebook and Messenger. The current update concerns the age-detection technology itself, which will help apply these restrictions to a larger number of users.

Meta continues to roll out AI age-detection in Facebook, and plans to begin a global rollout of similar technology in Threads by the end of 2026.

What is known about social media bans for teens

Different countries are tightening age restrictions for social networks. Australia was the first to introduce a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16. Already in the first week of the restrictions Meta blocked approximately 550,000 children’s accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

In June 2026 the United Kingdom also announced a ban on social networks for children under 16. It is due to take effect in spring 2027 and will cover, among others, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat.

In Spain they are also preparing a ban for users under 16. The government wants to force platforms to verify users’ real ages instead of relying only on the birth date they provide during registration.

A similar initiative is being considered in Poland, but the age threshold there is proposed to be set at 15. Denmark is also preparing restrictions for children under 15, with possible enforcement in July 2027.

In October 2026 the Greek parliament passed a law banning social networks for children under 15. It is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

In France the National Assembly supported a similar ban for children under 15, but in August the Constitutional Council found that provision unconstitutional. In Switzerland the authorities said they were ready to consider a ban, although no final decision was made at the time.

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