In order to ensure that its new teenage accounts are used by Internet users under the age of 18, Instagram has developed a tool powered by artificial intelligence capable of detecting, simply by analyzing the content and actions of an account , the age group of its user.
Today, the minimum age to register on Instagram is 13 years old (or older in some countries). This limitation unfortunately does not prevent you from registering and browsing the network well before this age, without the slightest verification. Also, like other social networks, Instagram is often accused of harming the mental health of young people, in this case who are not even of legal age to go there.
Meta, the publisher of Instagram, has decided to react and plans to soon use an artificial intelligence-based tool to identify young users who lie about their age. According to Bloomberg, the idea is to Automatically switch users under 18 to more restrictive privacy settings.
To achieve this, Meta has developed a software tool, called “adult classifier”, intended to classify Instagram users into two categories: over and under 18 years old.
To do this, it will analyze the data from the accounts concerned, sifting through the user’s profile but also their list of followers and the type of content with which they interact. This entire analysis aims to estimate the age range of the subscriber.
This measure follows Instagram’s introduction of accounts specifically dedicated to teenagers in September.
Any teenager suspected of having lied about their age will automatically switch to this type of account.
Intended for 13-17 year olds, these accounts are by default private, that is to say that teenagers must validate their new followersother users not having access to the content posted online.
Messaging is also restrictedlimited to exchanges with followed accounts. Interactions are also limited, teenagers can only be mentioned by the accounts they follow. As for so-called sensitive content (violence, promotion of cosmetic surgery, etc.), they are a priori completely absent, at least in the search results and in the Reels.
Finally, a notification is sent after 60 minutes of use during the day to encourage young people to close the application. Please note that parents nevertheless have the possibility of relaxing these restrictions if they wish.
This initiative responds to the recommendations of American authorities, who encourage adolescents to reduce their screen time, particularly at school.
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