Instagram enlists AI to detect underage teens

Instagram is now using artificial intelligence to identify teens who lie about their age in a bid to bypass protections built into its 'teen accounts' feature.

The Meta-owned platform said the AI will proactively flag accounts that appear to belong to teens, even if they claim to be older. Those accounts will then be placed into teen account settings.

Teen accounts is a stricter experience designed to limit unwanted contact, exposure to inappropriate content and excessive screen time.

Don't miss: Instagram's 'teen accounts': How can brands adapt to engage teens amid parental concerns?

Teen accounts automatically enroll teens aged 13 to 15 into a more controlled environment, requiring parental approval to change the settings. Meta said it has enrolled at least 54 million teens globally so far, with 97% of them choosing to stay in the protected experience. 

The feature first rolled out in Singapore in January 2025, followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan and the rest of APAC in February. 

“We’re using AI to help place suspected teens into teen account settings,” Instagram said in an update.

“We’re taking steps to ensure our technology is accurate... but in case we make a mistake, we’re giving people the option to change their settings," it added.

As part of the push, the platform is also sending notifications to parents encouraging conversations about age honesty and providing expert-backed tips on how to verify teens’ real ages.

The move comes amid growing parental concerns about the challenges of monitoring teens online, with Instagram saying it continues to listen to families navigating the digital world.

Meta recently expanded teen account protections to Facebook and Messenger, as scrutiny over underage users and platform safety intensifies. The company admitted age detection remains an “industry-wide challenge” and said it’s working on additional measures, including parental approvals and app store verification.

Will brands steer clear of Instagram?  

In conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE earlier this year, industry professionals said that brands are unlikely to cut ties with Instagram despite the restrictions. According to Florence Kong, founder and managing director, We Glow Hong Kong, Instagram remains a significant platform with a vast and diverse user base, making it unlikely that brands will abandon it entirely. 

“Although the new restrictions for teen accounts may lead brands to fine-tune their strategies—especially when targeting younger audiences—the platform’s extensive reach and robust advertising tools continue to offer substantial value,” she added. 

Although these changes may seem restrictive on paper, brands have always had limitations when it comes to targeting minors with advertisements within the Meta ecosystem, said Sunny Johar, managing director, Southeast Asia and group head of digital strategy, KRDS.

On the other hand, Kristian Olsen, managing director, Type A Digital, said brands aren’t leaving Instagram; instead, Instagram is leaving them - or at least making it a pain to reach the audiences they actually want.  

“This is just another chapter in the slow, painful suffocation of organic reach. Now, with teen protections tightening, anyone targeting under-18s will have to jump through even more hoops. Instead of walking away, brands will just get smarter-shifting efforts into DMs, Discord, closed communities, and creator-driven content that skirts the algorithm,” he added. 

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