Kids trick age verification with fake mustaches as Meta deploys AI to detect underage users

A Kid With a Fake Mustache Tricked an Online Age-Verification Tool

To stop children from bypassing its age checks, Meta is revamping its age-verification tools with an AI system that analyzes images and videos for "visual cues," such as height and bone structure. Meta is beefing up its age-verification mechanisms with an AI system that analyzes images and videos on Instagram and Facebook for "visual cues," such as height and bone structure, to identify and delete accounts of users under the age of 13. The company announced the move amid a wave of cases in which hundreds of children have managed to evade social network access restrictions, even through simple tricks such as drawing on a mustache. The new approach is part of a series of measures Meta adopted as part of an AI-based security strategy designed to correct the limitations of traditional methods, which rely heavily on self-reported age. With this change, the company seeks to reduce the ease with which minors access platforms that, in theory, are restricted to them. In a press release, Meta explained that it is implementing several tools to identify contextual indicators that allow estimating a person's age. This process includes the analysis of posts, comments, bios, and descriptions, with special attention to references related to school years or birthday celebrations -- elements that can offer clues about the real age of the person who manages the account. These tools are in addition to automated analysis techniques aimed at detecting physical traits from imagery shared to Meta's social platforms. These include characteristics such as height and bone structure. Meta is careful to stipulate that this system is not face recognition, as it does not seek to identify specific individuals in images or videos. Instead, the company notes that, "by combining these visual insights with our analysis of text and interactions, we can significantly increase the number of underage accounts we identify and remove." If, based on these elements, Meta suspects that an account is managed by a child under 13, it will be suspended. The user will have to revalidate their age using the procedures established by the company to regain access; otherwise, the profile will be permanently deleted. Meta also announced that it will expand the scope of its technology to detect users between the ages of 13 and 15 and automatically assign them teen accounts. This type of profile incorporates content restrictions and parental controls enabled by default, with the aim of providing a safer environment for this age group. Meta began implementing age-verification tech in 2024 for Instagram users in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Now, the mechanism will be extended to Instagram accounts in Brazil and 27 European Union countries. In addition, these practices will be applied for the first time to Facebook users in the US, with plans to expand to the EU and UK next month. The new measures have been interpreted as a response to a preliminary ruling recently issued by the European Commission, which concluded that the company led by Mark Zuckerberg is in breach of the Digital Services Act for allegedly failing to effectively prevent children under 13 from using its platforms. The EU body found that the company lacks sufficiently effective mechanisms to block such access and that its current systems for identifying and suspending accounts below the age threshold are insufficient. These criticisms are supported by the results of a survey conducted by the nonprofit Internet Matters. After surveying nearly 1,300 children and their parents in the UK, the study revealed that approximately one-third of children have successfully evaded government-imposed restrictions on access to social networking sites. In some cases, the methods employed are particularly striking. The report, titled "The Online Safety Act: Are Children Safe Online?" showed that 46 percent of 9- to 16-year-olds believe that circumventing age controls is very easy. In total, however, only 32 percent admitted to breaking the rules.

Kids are bypassing online age checks by drawing fake beard on their face

A fake beard might be the funniest new loophole in online safety check. According to a recent Internet Matters report, some children have been drawing facial hair on themselves to trick facial age-estimation tools into thinking they are older. One parent said their 12-year-old used an eyebrow pencil to draw a moustache and was verified as 15. Can a fake beard really beat online age checks? It sounds funny at first, however, this trick points to a much bigger cat-and-mouse problem. Platforms are adding stricter checks because of laws like the U.K. Online Safety Act, while younger users are finding ways around them almost as quickly. Internet Matters found that 53% of children had recently been asked to verify their age online, but 46% said age checks are easy to bypass. A third of children said they had already done so. The workarounds are not always high-tech. Kids still use fake birthdates, someone else's login, a parent's or sibling's device, or another person's ID. Others use VPNs, upload photos or videos of older people, or point their phone's camera at a screen showing an adult-looking face. In one reported workaround, users displayed Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding 2, played by Norman Reedus, in the game's high-fidelity photo mode and used that image to get past face-based age checks. Why are platforms struggling to keep kids out? Age checks are also becoming more common across major platforms, especially where chats, mature content, and teen safety settings are involved. Roblox, for example, has been tightening rules around age-based chat access, while Discord's age verification rollout showed how messy these systems can get when users are suddenly asked to prove their age. Meta is leaning on AI to detect whether teens are being honest about their age, and Steam's adult content crackdown shows how age checks are now affecting gaming stores too. Platforms are under pressure to keep younger users away from inappropriate spaces, but every new barrier also gives kids another workaround to test. Tougher checks also come with their own baggage. Face scans, ID uploads, and AI age estimation can create privacy concerns, add friction, and wrongly flag users. Internet Matters found that parents and children worry about how personal data and biometric information might be used, a concern that is becoming more relevant as the U.K. Online Safety Act, the EU's Digital Services Act, and Australia's under-16 social media law push platforms toward stricter age checks. Recommended Videos Age checks are becoming harder to avoid, but the fake beard trick shows the technology still has plenty of catching up to do.