Meta Upgrades Age Verification with AI After Children Bypass Checks Using Fake Mustaches

Thu, 07 May 2026 07:13:00 +0200

Meta is overhauling its age-verification system on Instagram and Facebook with a new AI-powered tool that analyzes images and videos for visual cues like height and bone structure to identify and remove accounts belonging to children under 13. This update comes after hundreds of children successfully bypassed existing age restrictions using simple tricks, including drawing fake mustaches on their faces with eyebrow pencils.

The new system examines contextual indicators such as posts, comments, bios, and references to school years or birthday celebrations alongside physical trait analysis. Meta emphasizes this is not face recognition meant to identify specific individuals, but rather age estimation. Accounts suspected of belonging to under-13 users will be suspended, requiring age revalidation or facing permanent deletion.

Meta is also expanding detection to users aged 13-15, automatically assigning them teen accounts with default content restrictions and parental controls. The upgrad