Do you think AI would know your age based on how you use social media?  Instagram is using artificial intelligence to check age and place underage users into limited teen accounts. Is that fair?

Is there anything that AI can’t do? Social media and AI are becoming one.  Meta platforms have their own AI assistants. Instagram is using AI to make recommendations and personalize your experience.

What are Instagram Teen Accounts?

Instagram introduced teen accounts last year. Meta said these accounts have “built-in protections” limiting who can contact teens, and restricting teen content and interactions. Teens are automatically placed into these more private accounts. After an hour, Instagram reminds teens to take a break.  Sleep mode will mute notifications between 10 pm and 7 am.

The new Teen Account protections are designed to address parents’ biggest concerns, including who their teens are talking to online, the content they’re seeing and whether their time is being well spent.

– Meta

Meta is encouraging parent involvement with these protective restrictions.  Parents can supervise daily use, and restrictions on content and interactions.  Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, a pediatric psychologist who works with Meta, said teens should only have access to “content, features, and interactions” that match their age and stage of development. These restrictions are an effort to protect minors from negative social media use.

How will Instagram’s AI know you are a teen?

Instagram is using AI to find teens who lie about their ages. Lets be honest, haven’t we all faked our ages to create an account? Instagram is training AI to use engagement trend analysis which will analyze profile information and the content users interact with.

People in the same age group tend to interact similarly. Teens interact with each other and with similar content. These patterns should help determine the users age. If AI finds an account with an underage user, Instagram will immediately switch them to a teen account. If AI makes a mistake, Instagram said they will give users the option to revert to an adult account. Otherwise, teens under 16 need a parents permission to change settings.

Instagram reported that “90% of parents” found the new account protections helpful. However, some accounts fall through the cracks. More teens will be placed in protective accounts because of the use of AI. It’s unclear what teens think about these restricted accounts.

Do other platforms “age-check?”

If AI can figure out your age on Instagram, can other platforms do the same?

Meta has announced that teen accounts have expanded to Facebook and Messenger. If AI age verification is a success, it will be used on those platforms as well.

Pinterest, TikTok, Google, and YouTube all have similar age verification processes. Users can verify their ages by submitting photos of their government-issued IDs, credit cards, or a selfie. Other platforms only ask for birthdays. TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew has said that TikTok scans videos to determine users ages.