YouTube is rolling out a new feature to users in the US that relies on machine learning to estimate their age, without providing any personal information. The Alphabet-owned company says it is bringing the same technology used in other regions to display content that is appropriate for younger users on the platform, while disabling features like personalised advertising. The feature is designed to work even if younger users have provided an incorrect birthday to bypass the platform’s age-based protections.
YouTube Will Limit Recommendations After Identifying Teen Users
In a blog post detailing the feature that is rolling out to “a small set of users in the US”, the company says that the age estimation feature is designed to infer the age of a YouTube user. It relies on artificial intelligence (AI), and users won’t have to share any private details as the platform uses signals to estimate their ages.
Once YouTube has identified an account being used by a teenager, it will automatically turn on the platform’s digital wellbeing features, which are designed to prevent excessive use. “Repetitive views” of content related to weight and physical appearance will also be curtailed, and YouTube will prevent some types of videos from appearing in their recommendations. Personalised ads will also be disabled on teenagers’ accounts.
AI-powered systems can also make mistakes while classifying accounts based on signals, and YouTube says that it will offer users a way to verify their age. Adults who have been incorrectly identified as teens can provide the platform with a government ID card, or a credit card to re-classify their account as an adult. Once it is resolved, YouTube will re-enable access to restricted videos and short videos.
The new age estimation capability comes months after YouTube CEO Neal Mohan first announced the feature was coming to users in February. The company’s previous efforts at limiting content available to younger users include supervised accounts and content restrictions that were rolled out in September 2024. YouTube says it will also roll out the same feature to other markets in the future.
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