Meta will use AI to analyze height and bone structure to identify if users are underage

2026-05-05 · Source: TechCrunch · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

Meta is deploying an AI system to identify and remove users under 13 from Facebook and Instagram, as announced on Tuesday. This AI analyzes visual cues like height and bone structure in photos and videos, combined with text and interaction analysis, to estimate a user's general age without using facial recognition. The system is currently active in select countries and will expand to more regions and features like Instagram Live and Facebook Groups. If an account is flagged as potentially underage, it will be deactivated, requiring age verification to prevent deletion. This initiative follows a recent $375 million civil penalty against Meta in New Mexico for child safety issues. Additionally, Meta is expanding its "Teen Accounts" technology, which applies stricter safeguards, to 27 countries in the EU and Brazil for Instagram, and to Facebook in the U.S., U.K., and EU.

Key takeaway

For product managers and legal teams developing social media platforms, Meta's new AI-driven age verification and "Teen Accounts" expansion highlight a critical industry shift towards proactive child safety measures. You should evaluate integrating similar AI-based content analysis and automated account restrictions to mitigate legal risks and enhance user protection, especially given increasing regulatory scrutiny and penalties.

Key insights

Meta is using AI to identify underage users and enhance child safety features across its platforms.

Principles

• Combine visual and contextual AI for age estimation.
• Prioritize user safety through proactive account restrictions.

Method

AI analyzes visual cues (height, bone structure) and contextual data (text, interactions) to estimate age, then deactivates suspected underage accounts for verification.

In practice

• Implement AI for age verification in user-generated content.
• Automate stricter account settings for teen users.

Topics

• AI Age Verification
• Underage User Identification
• Child Safety
• Platform Regulation
• Teen Accounts

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by TechCrunch.