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

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. The BotsFired read on Facebook and Instagram are: this matters only where it changes a real workflow, budget, deployment constraint, or buyer decision. Robotics is shifting from demo theater into repeatable work packages. The hard question is whether the system can run safely, repeatedly, and cheaply enough that a buyer can put it into a real operating plan. For builders, the practical question is whether Facebook and Instagram are removes a constraint that teams already feel. A launch is cheap; a default workflow is expensive to earn