YouTube rolls out age-estimation tech to identify US teens and apply additional protections
YouTube on Tuesday announced it’s beginning to roll out age-estimation technology in the U.S. to identify teen users in order to provide a more age-appropriate experience. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account.
When YouTube identifies a user as a teen, it intr oduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards that limit repetitive viewing of certain types of content, and enabling digital well-being tools such as screen time and bedtime reminders, among others.
These protections already exist on YouTube, but have only been applied to those who verified themselves as teens, not those who may have withheld their real age. For instance, in 2023, YouTube began limiting repeated viewing of videos that could trigger body image issues or those that display social aggression. The company has also been developing digital well-being tools since 2018.
If the new system incorrectly identifies a user as under 18 when they are not, YouTube says the user will be given the option to verify their age with a credit card, government ID, or selfie. Only users who have been directly verified through this method or whose age has been inferred to be over 18 will be able to view the age-restricted content on the platform.
