Meta is introducing a new artificial intelligence system that will look at the faces of teenage users on Facebook and Instagram to estimate their ages as part of efforts to meet age verification rules in Europe, Brazil, and the United States. The company says the tool is meant to help identify underage users and give teenagers aged thirteen to eighteen more suitable content feeds, as regulators push for stronger protection of children online. Meta already uses artificial intelligence to study account details like posts, comments, bios, and captions to guess a user’s age from context. It is now adding facial analysis of photos and videos to estimate age without identification.
The tech giant also said the new system will scan images and videos for visual clues about age; however, the text-based signals might get missed. Moreover, they added that the tool does not identify a person, as it’s not a facial recognition technology. Instead, it looks at general features such as appearance, shape, and other visible age-related cues. The company says this helps estimate whether someone is likely under thirteen or between thirteen and eighteen.
Meta clarified that the older methods that study profiles, posts, and interactions across its apps will remain active. However, combining them with the new signals is expected to improve the accuracy in the age estimation across Facebook and Instagram.
The company has also urged the app stores to take more responsibility for checking a user’s age at the time of signup. Meta argues that this would help developers offer safer, age-appropriate experiences without building separate systems. The company also claims that a large majority of parents in the United States support this idea.
Regulators in Europe, Brazil, and the United States have been increasing pressure on social media companies to stop underage access and improve safety for teenagers. They want stronger systems to block children under thirteen and to ensure older teens see content suited to their age.
Meta says its new approach is part of that wider effort, but it also insists that no system can be perfect on its own. It believes combining AI tools with legal rules and app store checks could create a safer online space for young users across its platforms. However, critics still question accuracy and privacy concerns.