May 5, 2026 – Meta has announced new advancements in its age assurance
technology as part of its ongoing efforts to create safer, age-appropriate experiences for young people across its platforms. Through a combination of AI, product design, and parental support tools, Meta continues to strengthen how it identifies teens, protects them by default, and supports families in navigating digital environments.
Strengthening underage enforcement with advanced AI
Meta requires users to be at least 13 years old to use its platforms and
continues to invest in advanced technologies to uphold this policy at
scale. As part of these efforts, the company is further enhancing its
AI-driven systems to more effectively identify and take action on
accounts that may belong to underage users.
These advancements include:
- Contextual AI analysis across profiles: Meta’s systems analyse a wide
range of signals—including posts, comments, bios and captions—to
identify contextual indicators such as references to school environments
or age-related milestones. This capability is being expanded across
additional surfaces within Meta’s apps, strengthening enforcement in a
more consistent and proactive way. - Advanced visual analysis technology: Meta is introducing AI that can
interpret general age-related cues within photos and videos. This
technology estimates age ranges based on broad characteristics and does
not use facial recognition or identify individuals. When combined with
behavioural and textual signals, it significantly enhances detection
accuracy. - Expanded enforcement and verification processes: Accounts identified as
potentially underage are subject to age verification requirements. Where
age cannot be confirmed, accounts may be removed to maintain platform
integrity. - Improved reporting and flagging tools: Meta is making it easier for
people to report suspected underage accounts through simplified
reporting flows available both in-app and via the Help Center, helping
surface potential violations more efficiently. - AI-supported review systems: To improve consistency and speed, Meta is
supplementing human review teams with AI models that apply standardised
evaluation criteria to reports, enabling faster and more reliable
enforcement outcomes. - Stronger circumvention safeguards: Meta is also enhancing its ability to
detect and prevent repeat attempts by users who may try to bypass age
restrictions by creating new accounts.
While many of these AI-driven systems are already in use globally,
certain advanced capabilities continue to be rolled out progressively
across additional markets.
Expanding Teen Account protections
Meta continues to expand its Teen Account framework, which is designed
to provide built-in protections that limit unwanted contact and reduce
exposure to inappropriate content. Since its introduction, hundreds of
millions of teens have been enrolled in these protections across
Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger [1].
These protections [2] include automatically placing teens under 18 into
age-appropriate experiences, including a default 13+ content setting
designed to limit exposure to sensitive content.
Building on this progress, Meta is further scaling its proactive
detection technology [3] that identifies users who may be teens—even
if they have entered an adult birthdate—and automatically places them
into age-appropriate settings. This technology, already rolled out in
several markets, is being expanded to additional regions, with the goal
of making these protections available more broadly over time.
Supporting parents with tools and guidance
Meta continues to support parents as key partners in helping teens
navigate online experiences safely. The company is introducing new
notifications and guidance designed to help parents better understand
how to verify their teen’s age and encourage open conversations about
the importance of providing accurate information online.
These efforts build on existing resources available through Meta’s
Family Center [4], which provides tools and educational materials to
help families manage their digital experiences more effectively.
Meta also maintains age verification requirements for users who attempt
to change their age in ways that may bypass protections, using a
combination of ID verification and facial age estimation tools.
Advocating for industry-wide solutions
Meta continues to emphasise that age assurance is a complex,
industry-wide challenge that requires broader collaboration. The company
supports approaches [5] where age verification is conducted at the
operating system or app store level, enabling developers to deliver
consistent, age-appropriate experiences across apps.
In addition to AI-based detection, Meta uses age estimation based on
user activity and signals, as well as user reports, to help determine
whether someone may be misrepresenting their age.
Meta believes that such an approach would help reduce fragmentation,
improve consistency in protections, and provide a more
privacy-preserving solution compared to requiring each individual app to
implement separate systems.
