Facebook and Instagram are using AI bone structure analysis to identify photos of kids

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Follow Follow See All Policy Facebook and Instagram are using AI bone structure analysis to identify photos of kids ‘We want to be clear: this is not facial recognition,’ Facebook says. ‘We want to be clear: this is not facial recognition,’ Facebook says. by Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

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Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth May 5, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC Link Share Gift Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Part Of Let me see some ID: age verification is spreading across the internet see all updates Emma Roth Close Emma Roth Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Facebook and Instagram have a new way to detect and remove users under 13: AI bone structure analysis. In a blog post on Tuesday , Meta — Facebook and Instagram’s parent company — says its AI system will scan photos and videos posted to its platforms for “general themes and visual cues,” including height and bone structure. “We want to be clear: this is not facial recognition,” Meta says in the blog post, adding that it “does not identify the specific person in the image.

” This system is part of Meta’s efforts to keep kids under 13 off its platforms, and will also analyze posts, comments, bios, and captions to search for “contextual clues” that someone might be underage. Meta’s AI-powered facial analysis, which is only available in “select” countries including the US ahead of a wider rollout, seems similar to the face-scanning tech offered by age verification services like Yoti and k-ID. Facebook and Instagram will deactivate accounts identified as underage, and the owner will need to verify their age to prevent it from deletion.

The announcement comes just days after a New Mexico jury found that Meta violated state law by misleading customers about the safety of its platforms and failing to protect children from child predators. Meta must pay $375 million as a result, and may have to implement changes that the company has already threatened to leave the state over . Facebook is going to start automatically putting underage users into Teen Accounts, too.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.