Instagram & Facebook Now Uses AI to Analyze "Height & Bone Structure" to Spot Underage Users

It’s not hidden anymore that social media platforms have been dealing with age-related concerns for years now. These days, it’s not uncommon to see teens misrepresenting their age just to bypass restrictions and access content across Facebook, Instagram, and more. No doubt, this creates safety risks and makes it harder for platforms to maintain age-appropriate experiences. Now, Meta appears to be stepping things up with a new set of AI-powered age assurance measures across Facebook and Instagram.

Meta expands AI tools to detect underage users and enforce teen protections

In a new blog post detailing the new AI detection approach, Meta says it is strengthening its underage enforcement by using AI to identify and remove users under 13 from its platforms. Additionally, the company is also expanding its systems to detect teens who may have listed an adult age and automatically place them into Teen Account protections.

The company has announced that it is expanding its teen detection technology on Instagram across the EU and Brazil, while also bringing it to Facebook in the US for the first time. This means more users who are suspected to be teens will be pushed into safer, age-appropriate settings by default.

Wondering how it works? Meta is now using AI to analyze profiles more deeply. This includes scanning posts, captions, bios, and even comments for signals like school references or birthday mentions. The company is also introducing visual analysis, which looks at general cues, including “height or bone structure,” in photos and videos to estimate age. While confirming this, Meta also explicitly mentioned that the system “does not identify the specific person in the image.”

Image credit: Meta

Parents get more tools as strict age enforcement rolls out

Meta plans to send notifications on Facebook and Instagram with tips on how to talk to teens about sharing their correct age online. Parents can also use existing tools to review and confirm their teen’s age settings. Not to forget, Meta is also making it easier to report underage accounts.

Reports can now be submitted more easily, and AI systems are being used to speed up review and decision-making. Recently, Meta also allowed parents to see the general topics their teen has been asking Meta AI.

All that said, it remains to be seen how accurate these systems will be at scale or how users will respond to automated age enforcement.