Meta expands AI tools to strengthen teen safety

Meta has announced an expansion of its age assurance and teen safety measures across Facebook and Instagram, strengthening systems designed to identify underage users and automatically apply Teen Account protections.

The updates form part of a broader effort to ensure that users under 18 are placed in age-appropriate environments, with enhanced enforcement tools, expanded geographic rollout, and additional support for parents.

AI systems expanded to detect underage users

Meta is increasing its use of artificial intelligence to identify accounts suspected of belonging to users under 13 or misrepresenting their age. The systems analyse profile information, including posts, captions and interactions, to identify signals such as references to school activity or age-related milestones.

The company is also introducing visual analysis technology to support age estimation. Meta stated that the system evaluates general visual cues, such as body proportions, rather than identifying individuals, and does not use facial recognition.

If an account is flagged as potentially underage, it may be deactivated and require verification through official age confirmation methods.

Teen Account protections expanded globally

Meta is extending its Teen Accounts system, which applies default safety settings for younger users, to additional regions. The rollout includes 27 countries in the European Union and Brazil on Instagram, alongside expansion on Facebook in the United States, with further markets expected to follow.

The company says hundreds of millions of teens are already enrolled in these protected account settings, which limit contact from unknown users and restrict certain content exposure.

Increased reporting tools and automated review

The platform is also simplifying reporting processes for suspected underage accounts and introducing AI-assisted review systems to process reports more consistently and quickly.

Meta says these systems are designed to improve accuracy and reduce reliance on manual review alone, particularly as report volumes increase.

Focus on parental engagement and verification

As part of the update, Meta is introducing notifications to parents in the United States across Facebook and Instagram. These messages provide guidance on verifying teens’ ages and encourage conversations about accurate age representation online.

Parents can also access tools through Meta’s Family Center, which consolidates resources for managing teen safety settings.

Policy approach and industry cooperation

Meta argues that age assurance should be supported at operating system or app store level to create more consistent protections across platforms. The company states that centralized verification could reduce fragmentation and improve privacy compliance across services used by young people.

The updates build on Meta’s existing policies requiring users to be at least 13 years old on Facebook and Instagram, and its ongoing investment in automated systems designed to detect and manage underage accounts.

www.meta.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn