Meta is expanding its AI-based age-detection technology globally on Instagram, using signals that suggest an account belongs to a teenager even when the registered date of birth says adult. Accounts the system identifies as teen-owned are moved into Instagram's Teen Account settings, which limit unwanted contact and sensitive content and nudge users to take breaks.

In Australia, Meta has also started using Apple's age-range signal as an additional check, shared with parental permission when a phone is set up for a teenager. In the US, parents will begin receiving notifications this month explaining how Instagram identifies teenage users and applies age-appropriate settings.

Meta said similar age-detection is continuing to roll out on Facebook, with comparable measures planned globally on Threads later this year, alongside work to identify accounts belonging to children under 13. The company repeated its call for app-store-level age verification laws, arguing a shared verified signal would be more consistent than each platform running its own checks.