Meta announced in 2026 that it is expanding its age-verification systems on Instagram and Facebook, adding an AI tool that analyzes images and videos for physical “visual cues” — including height and bone structure — to identify and remove accounts belonging to users under 13. The move follows reports that hundreds of children have bypassed existing age restrictions using methods as simple as drawing on a fake mustache.
The new system supplements traditional self-reported age checks with automated analysis of posts, comments, bios, and descriptions, looking for contextual clues such as references to school years or birthday celebrations. Meta was careful to clarify that the tool is not facial recognition and does not identify specific individuals. Instead, the company says it combines visual insights with text and interaction analysis to “significantly increase the number of underage accounts we identify and remove.”
Accounts suspected of belonging to a child under 13 will be suspended. Users must revalidate their age through Meta’s established procedures or the account will be permanently deleted. Meta also said it will use the technology to identify users aged 13 to 15 and automatically place them into “teen accounts,” which include default content restrictions and parental controls.
Age-verification tools were first introduced in 2024 for Instagram users in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. The expanded rollout now covers Instagram in Brazil and 27 EU countries, and introduces the measures to Facebook users in the US, with plans to extend to the EU and UK the following month.
The changes come in response to a preliminary ruling from the European Commission, which found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to effectively prevent under-13s from accessing its platforms. Supporting that finding, a survey by the nonprofit Internet Matters of nearly 1,300 children and parents in the UK found that roughly one-third of children had successfully bypassed age restrictions, and 46 percent of 9- to 16-year-olds said circumventing age controls was very easy.
Source: WIRED