Meta is tightening how Instagram handles age on the platform. The company announced on Monday that it is using AI technology to look for kids who may be lying about their age so they can avoid teen safeguards.
When Instagram suspects an account belongs to a teen, the platform can move that account into a restricted Teen Account, even if the profile lists an adult birthday. The change is aimed at making sure more young users get the built-in protections Instagram created for teens.
How Instagram is using AI for age checks
Instagram has already been using AI to determine age for quite some time. What is changing now is how clearly Meta is connecting that technology to Teen Accounts.
The company says the system is being used to help ensure that teens are accessing Instagram through a Teen Account instead of an adult account. That matters because an adult birthday can let a young user appear outside the protections designed for teens.
Meta previously told TechCrunch last year that it had planned to do this. At the time, it said possible signals could include detecting happy birthday posts and receiving reports from other users.
The company says it is taking steps to make sure the technology is accurate and that teens are placed into Teen Accounts correctly. Still, Meta also says people will have an option to change their settings if the company makes a mistake.
What Teen Accounts change on Instagram
Teen Accounts launched on Instagram last year. They place young users into an app experience with built-in protections that are applied automatically.
Those safeguards affect two major parts of the Instagram experience: who can contact a teen on the app, and what type of content the account holder can view. The goal is to make the protected version of Instagram the default experience for younger users, rather than something they or their parents must discover and turn on manually.
For teens under the age of 16, the restrictions are harder to change. They need their parents' permission to adjust any of these settings.
That parent approval requirement is a key part of the Teen Account model. It means Instagram is not only applying account-level limits, but also making parents part of decisions about whether those limits should be loosened.
Why birthday information matters
The issue Meta is targeting is simple: age-based protections depend on age information being correct. If a young user enters an adult birthday, the account may not receive the same restrictions as a teen account.
Instagram's new approach is designed to reduce that gap. Instead of relying only on the birthday listed on the profile, the platform is now using AI to flag accounts that may belong to teens and place them into Teen Accounts.
Meta is also bringing parents further into the process. Instagram says it will start sending notifications to parents with information about how they can talk with their teens about giving the correct age online.
The platform says one of the most important things parents can do is check whether their teen's account lists the correct birthday. That is a practical step because the birthday attached to an account helps determine which protections apply.
Meta is expanding teen protections beyond Instagram
The Instagram announcement comes two weeks after Meta introduced Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. That timing shows the company is applying the Teen Account model across more of its apps, not just Instagram.
Meta says it has enrolled at least 54 million teens into Teen Accounts globally so far. It also says 97% of teens ages 13-15 have remained in these protected accounts.
Those numbers are important because they show the scale of the system Meta is building. Teen Accounts are not a small test or a feature aimed at a narrow group of users. They are becoming a default safety layer for many young people across Meta's services.
In its blog post, the company framed the move as a response to changing online behavior. Meta wrote, "The digital world continues to evolve and we have to evolve with it." It added that parents and the company need to work together so as many teens as possible receive the protective settings that come with Teen Accounts.
What this means for users and parents
For teens, the most visible result may be that an account listed with an adult birthday can still be treated as a Teen Account if Instagram's systems suspect the user is younger. That could mean more limits on contact and content without the teen manually choosing those settings.
For parents, the update makes birthday accuracy a bigger part of account safety. Instagram is directly encouraging parents to check that their teens have entered the correct age and to discuss why that information matters.
The broader message from Meta is that age assurance is becoming part of how Instagram applies its teen safeguards. The company is using AI to look beyond self-reported birthdays, while also leaving room for corrections when its technology gets a case wrong.