Instagram will begin to pay closer attention to the age of its users. The social network will identify teenagers who hide their real age in order to automatically switch them to stricter privacy settings, reports mediabrest.by, citing Bloomberg.
Meta, the company that owns Instagram, will implement specialized artificial intelligence software to determine users’ age, called the “adult classifier.” This decision follows criticism from parents and authorities, who accuse Instagram of having a negative impact on teenagers’ psychological health.
With the help of AI, users’ accounts will be divided into two groups: those over 18 and those younger. The algorithm will analyze the user’s profile, followers, content they view, and even birthday posts made by friends.
If the AI determines that the user is under 18, their account will automatically be moved to the teen account category, regardless of the age stated by the user. Currently, it is unclear how accurate this “classifier” will be.
For teenagers, access to messages and certain types of content will be restricted. Users aged 16 and 17 will be able to change their privacy settings on their own, while those under this age will need parental consent.
A study by UK regulators found that one-third of minors with social media accounts claim to be 18 or older, although it is easy to lie about age on most websites.
