Meta said Monday it is expanding its AI age-estimation technology on Instagram to teens around the world. The system looks for users Meta suspects are teens and places them into Teen Account protections, even if they entered an adult birthday when signing up. Meta said the expansion will move millions more teens into those protections.
Teen Accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger automatically limit who can contact teens, what content they see and how much time they spend in the apps. Meta first began using AI to proactively place suspected teens in these accounts in the US and has since extended it to other markets, saying it has been encouraged by the results.
The global expansion starts with Instagram. Meta said it is continuing to roll the technology out on Facebook and will begin launching similar technology globally on Threads later this year.
Key facts
- 01Meta said on Nov. 9, 2026 it is expanding Instagram's AI age-estimation technology to teens worldwide.
- 02Suspected teens are placed in Teen Account protections even if they signed up with an adult birthday.
- 03Meta is continuing the rollout on Facebook and plans similar technology globally on Threads later this year.
- 04In Australia, Meta is using Apple's age-range signal as an additional way to understand a user's age.
- 05The expansion builds on Meta's agreement with 52 bipartisan US attorneys general.
Meta is also investing in stronger technology to proactively catch accounts that may belong to children under 13, and to identify 13- to 17-year-olds who give an adult birthday. The company said the work builds on its commitments under a recent agreement with 52 bipartisan attorneys general covering US states, territories and the District of Columbia.
Parents in the US will see an in-feed video on Instagram this month explaining the approach. The video links to an article by Larry Magid, President and CEO of the internet safety group ConnectSafely, describing Meta's multi-layered age assurance approach, and Meta said the article is available to parents worldwide.
In Australia, Meta has started using Apple's age-range signal as an additional input. When a parent sets up a teen's device, the app store can confirm the user's age and assign an age range, which Apple passes to developers when the teen downloads an app.
Meta noted that sharing those app store signals is optional for app stores and using them is optional for developers, which it said leads to inconsistent protection. The company said it has long supported legislation requiring age verification and parental consent at the app store level, with developer-side estimation acting as a backstop that can feed corrections back to the app store.
Meta also argued that existing laws do not explain how technology companies should determine a user's age, and that some require invasive age checks for everyone. It renewed a call, first made in an open letter in August, for TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same age assurance practices.
The expansion comes as Meta faces multiple lawsuits alleging its platforms harm teens. In August, Meta reached settlements with nearly every US state and territory over attorney general lawsuits on teen harms, and last month it settled with a teen plaintiff in a Los Angeles trial that tested claims Instagram and Facebook were designed to be addictive.
Under those settlements, Meta agreed to improve how it identifies teens and children under 13, and Monday's Instagram expansion is the latest step in that work, with Threads scheduled to follow later this year.
Working on something we should cover, or seeing a story we missed? Send leads, documents, or feedback to hello@aichatdaily.com. For sensitive tips, see our secure tips page for Signal and PGP options.
Spotted an error? Email hello@aichatdaily.com with the URL and the issue, or read our full corrections policy.
