Meta will use AI to analyze height and bone structure to identify underage users and remove them from Facebook and Instagram

Meta announced it is starting to use AI to scan photos and videos for visual clues—including a person's height or bone structure—to estimate whether a user is under 13 and should be removed from its platforms. The company emphasized this is not facial recognition, but rather analysis of general themes and visual cues combined with text and interaction analysis.

The visual analysis system is now operating in select countries, with Meta working toward a broader rollout. The company also announced it is expanding its "Teen Accounts" technology—which restricts direct messages, hides harmful comments, and sets accounts to private by default—to 27 countries in the EU and Brazil on Instagram, and to the U.S. for the first time on Facebook, followed by the U.K. and EU in June.

If Meta determines a person may be underage, it will deactivate their account. The user will need to prove their age using Meta's age verification process in order to prevent their account from being deleted.

The announcement comes weeks after a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties for misleading consumers about platform safety and putting children at risk, and ordered the company to implement fundamental changes to its platforms.