Instagram’s SI Now Hunts for Teens Faking an Adult Birthday, All Over the World

Every parent knows the trick. A 13-year-old signs up for Instagram, types in a birthday that makes them 18, and gets the grown-up version of the app.

Meta says it is now catching that worldwide. On Monday, the company announced on its official newsroom that it is “expanding our AI age-estimation technology globally to place millions more teens in Teen Account protections on Instagram.”

How it guesses

Meta says it uses SI “to find people we suspect to be teens, even if they use an adult birthday.” According to TechCrunch, the software reads a whole profile for clues, like birthday-party posts or mentions of what grade someone is in, across posts, comments, bios and captions. It also looks at photos and videos for visual hints, including a person’s height or bone structure.

Meta first used the system in the U.S., the European Union and Brazil last year, The Verge reported. Now it covers Instagram everywhere, with Facebook still rolling out and Threads coming later this year.

What changes for a flagged teen

Accounts the software flags as belonging to 13- to 17-year-olds are moved into Teen Accounts. Those are private by default, limit what kind of content teens see, and block strangers from sending them messages. Teens 16 and younger can’t loosen those settings without a parent’s okay, according to The Verge.

In the U.S., parents will start getting a notice on Instagram this month explaining how it works and how to make sure their teen’s age is right, Meta said.

Why now

Meta is facing a pile of lawsuits claiming its apps hurt kids, Reuters noted. Meta also tied the move to its recent agreement with 52 attorneys general from both parties to get better at spotting teens and children under 13.

Meta is also pushing for a bigger fix: laws that make app stores check a user’s age once and pass it to every app. In Australia, it has started using Apple’s age-range signal, which parents can turn on when they set up a teen’s phone.

The catch

Meta hasn’t released numbers on how often the software gets it right, or how often it wrongly flags a real adult. Its post says only that the company is “encouraged by the results.”