Instagram launches AI age-check & parent alerts for teen safety

Instagram is enhancing its AI‑driven age‑checking process to better identify under‑age users and is introducing new in‑app notifications to alert parents about their teens’ online risks.

Over the past two years, the platform has tried to improve its age‑verification systems by analysing signals such as account creation date, interaction patterns and content engagement. The updated AI model now incorporates additional data points, including watch time and follow networks, and is trained on region‑specific trends to refine its accuracy.

“To develop our adult classifier, we first train an AI model on signals such as profile information, like when a person’s account was created and interactions with other profiles and content,” Meta explained. “From those signals, the model learns to make calculations about whether someone is an adult or a teen.”

In certain regions, the company is also piloting a video‑selfie age check in partnership with Yoti. Under this system, users can verify their age via a short facial scan, with Yoti providing the underlying biometric assessment.

These measures arrive amid growing scrutiny from regulators in Australia, Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom, all of which are weighing higher age limits for social‑media access. Critics have argued that more robust age controls are necessary to shield younger users from potentially harmful content and to avoid hefty fines for non‑compliance. Meta has repeatedly urged that the most reliable age verification occurs at the app‑store level, where parental approval can be required before an account is created.

Separately, Instagram will begin notifying parents about the safety tools available to their teenagers, including the option to set usage limits and restrict certain content types. The platform’s Teen Accounts feature, launched last year, now covers at least 54 million users worldwide, with 97 per cent of 13‑ to 15‑year‑olds choosing to remain within its enhanced protections. The service has also been extended to Facebook and Messenger.

“We’ve enrolled at least 54 million teens into Teen Accounts globally so far, with 97 per cent of teens ages 13–15 electing to remain in these protections,” Meta stated, noting that over 90 per cent of parents surveyed find the new safeguards helpful.

Instagram said it will roll out the expanded age‑verification and parental notification tools gradually, monitoring performance before opening a formal verification request process for notable accounts.

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