Meta announced that it is introducing artificial intelligence to Instagram to detect teens and automatically update safety settings. The system will analyze user activity to determine their age, even if they have indicated that they are of legal age.
According to the company, the algorithms read messages like "Happy 16th Birthday" or behavioral patterns — such as interaction with content typical of a certain age group. If such signs are present, the system will forcibly change the profile type to a teen, which involves additional content filtering and closing the profile from messages from strangers.
The company first announced the feature in the fall of 2024. Meta says there are already 54 million teen accounts registered on Instagram. The company is also rolling out teen profiles on Facebook and Messenger.
The new system will initially only launch in the US. Meta warns that the AI may identify some users as teenagers by mistake, so they will have the option to manually revert to the default settings.