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Instagram uses AI to estimate Arab teens’ ages despite fake birth dates
Meta has expanded Instagram’s AI-powered age-estimation technology to users worldwide, including users in Arab countries, to move those suspected of being under 18 to restricted Teen Accounts. The move comes as the United Arab Emirates has banned social media accounts for anyone under 15.
Meta has announced the global expansion of its AI-powered age-estimation technology on Instagram, including to millions of users in Arab countries. The technology searches for accounts whose owners are likely to be teenagers, even if they have entered an adult birth date, and automatically moves them to more strictly protected Teen Accounts.
The company said in its announcement on November 9 that “millions of teenagers around the world who use Instagram will receive these built-in protections, even if they entered inaccurate ages.”
How does artificial intelligence estimate age?
As Meta previously explained, its systems analyze contextual indicators in posts, comments, bios and photo captions, such as birthday greetings or references to a school grade. In some countries, they also use visual analysis of photos and videos. The company stresses that this is not facial-recognition technology and that the AI does not identify the person shown in an image.
Teen Accounts restrict who can message the user, filter sensitive content, remind users about the time they spend on the app and activate sleep mode at night. Users under 16 cannot loosen these settings without parental permission. Meta also requires anyone trying to change their age from under 18 to 18 or older to prove their age with an identity document or through Yoti’s facial age-estimation tool.
United Arab Emirates bans accounts for under-15s
The move comes amid tighter legislation in the region. In June, the UAE Cabinet decided to ban children under 15 from creating or using social media accounts, while those aged 15 to 16 would receive restricted access including content filtering, disabled interaction with strangers, usage-time limits and parental controls. Platforms were given up to 12 months to comply, according to Gulf News.
In neighboring Türkiye, a ban on opening social media accounts for people under 15 took effect on November 1, with age verification carried out through the e-Government portal.
Meta says it is continuing to roll out the technology on Facebook and will begin applying similar technology to Threads before the end of the year. At the same time, it is calling for app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent.
Teen Accounts begin with a notification informing users that their safety settings have been updated, with the option to review them at any time. Meta says the idea is for teenagers to receive these protections automatically without having to activate them themselves.
Photos: Meta
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