Meta expands AI that catches lying teens to roll out safeguards globally

Meta is taking its age-detection artificial intelligence worldwide to find minors who lie about their age. The tool identifies users suspected of being teenagers and automatically applies protective settings to their accounts, even if they registered with an adult birth date.

Global rollout and new app expansions

The system is now launching globally across Instagram. Teen accounts limit who can contact young users, restrict the material they can see, and cap their screen time on the platform. Meta stated that the expansion will put millions more teenagers under these default limits.

The company is also deploying the technology across Facebook and plans to bring similar detection tools to Threads later this year. The push follows a recent agreement between Meta and 52 bipartisan attorneys general across United States states and territories to better spot underage users and block children under 13 from its services.

Device-level signals and industry pressure

In Australia, Meta started testing Apple’s age-range signal. When a parent configures a smartphone, the app store can verify the user’s age group and pass that signal to app makers when software is downloaded. Meta is using this data voluntarily, but the company argues that app store checks should be required by law across the tech industry rather than handled by individual platforms.

Meta noted that emerging safety laws around the world often fail to explain how platforms should confirm ages, forcing firms to balance verification against user privacy. Alongside expanding its internal systems, Meta called on competitors like TikTok and YouTube to adopt matching safeguards for their teen audiences.