Meta revealed a “Teen Accounts” feature last year to provide better security and protection for younger users. Meta has been providing parents on Instagram with information about the importance of their teens providing correct ages online, along with tips to check and confirm their teens’ ages together. Plus, Meta is using AI to place suspected teens into Teen Account settings. Teens under 16 would need parental or guardian approval to make changes.
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“We’ve enrolled at least 54 million teens into Teen Accounts globally so far, with 97% of teens ages 13-15 electing to remain in these protections, and we recently expanded the Teen Account experience to Facebook and Messenger,” said Meta in a statement. “Parents and teens alike are telling us that they are happy with this new, reimagined experience. And although over 90% of parents surveyed say the new Teen Account protections are helpful in supporting their teens on Instagram, we’re continuing to listen to parents who are concerned about how overwhelming the internet can be when it comes to making sure teens have age-appropriate experiences.”
To build out these features, Meta worked with several experts including pediatric psychologist Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart to share tips on how to have these conversations and check and confirm their teens’ ages on these apps.
Meta has been been using AI to determine age for some time, but utilizing it in this way is a big change. And the company is taking steps to ensure the technology is accurate and that they are correctly placing teens we identify into protective and age-appropriate settings. In case a mistake is made, Meta is giving people the option to change their settings.
