Latest news with #ageestimation
The Verge
an hour ago
- The Verge
Google is using AI age checks to lock down user accounts
Google will soon cast an even wider net with its AI age estimation technology. After announcing plans to find and restrict underage users on YouTube, the company now says it will start detecting whether Google users based in the US are under 18. Age estimation is rolling out over the next few weeks and will only impact a 'small set' of users to start, though Google plans on expanding it more widely. The company says it will use the information a user has searched for or the types of YouTube videos they watch to determine their age. Google first announced this initiative in February. If Google believes that a user is under 18, it will apply the same restrictions it places on users who proactively identify as underage. In addition to enabling bedtime reminders on YouTube and limiting content recommendations, Google will also turn off Timeline in Maps, disable personalized advertising, and block users from accessing apps for adults on the Play Store. In case Google incorrectly identifies someone as under 18, users can submit a photo of their government ID or a selfie to verify their age. The move comes amid a global push for age verification, with politicians in the US pressuring tech companies to make their platforms safer for kids, and the UK widely rolling out an age verification requirement affecting platforms like Bluesky, Reddit, Discord, and even Spotify. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Google Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
CNET
3 hours ago
- CNET
YouTube's Age-Estimation Tech Will Spot Kids Pretending to Be Adults. Here's How It Works
If kids are lying about their age, YouTube will know about it. Or at least will try to find out. The streaming service announced it's rolling out age-estimation technology that will use various data to determine if someone is under the age of 18, and then use that signal "to deliver our age-appropriate product experiences and protections." Basically -- assuming it works as it should -- kids will not be able to access what YouTube deems as age-restricted content. Google, YouTube's parent company, announced in February that it would begin deploying this type of technology, which relies on AI, to determine users' ages. YouTube said it will test the machine-learning tech on a small set of users in the US to estimate their age. Some of the signals they will look at include "the types of videos a user is searching for, the categories of videos they have watched, or the longevity of the account." After ensuring the age-verification is working as intended, YouTube will then roll it out more widely. The move is another step in the growing age-verification push that is being hastened by the US and other governments trying to prevent children from accessing content deemed harmful, unhealthy and not appropriate for their age. If its age-estimation system decides someone is under 18, YouTube will then: disable personalized advertising turn on digital wellbeing tools add safeguards to recommendations, including limiting repetitive views of some content People who are actually adults but who have been wrongly identified as children will be able to verify that they are 18 or older by using a credit card or a government ID.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Yahoo
Roblox rolls out new AI-powered safety measures to protect teens
The online gaming platform Roblox announced new safety measures tor teenagers. The new "age estimation technology" will require users to take a selfie video which will be analyzed by AI to estimate their age. This comes after Roblox came under fire over a 27-year-old man who was was accused of kidnapping a ten-year-old he met on the gaming platform. Solve the daily Crossword
The Verge
17-07-2025
- The Verge
Roblox will require a facial scan or government ID to have unfiltered chats
Roblox is introducing a way to let trusted friends chat more freely among themselves, but it will require that they use a new age estimation tool to verify that they're over 13. The platform is renaming Friends to Connections, and people can only use unfiltered text chat and the Party social feature with a more exclusive group of 'Trusted Connections.' The new age estimator tool prompts users to take a video selfie, 'which is analyzed against a large and diverse dataset to estimate their age,' according to a blog post from chief safety officer Matt Kaufman. 'If the system is not able to estimate the user's age with high confidence, then the user's age will remain unconfirmed and the user won't be able to access Trusted Connections,' Kaufman says. If a user doesn't pass the age estimation tool but they are actually over 13, they will be able to confirm their age via ID verification 'and, in the future, verified parental consent.' Roblox partnered with identity verification company Persona on the age estimation technology, Roblox's Ryan Ebanks said in a call with reporters, and he says biometric data will be deleted 30 days after collection 'except for a few exceptions where legally required.' Persona is 'providing the core age estimation and ID verification services to Roblox,' spokesperson Juliet Chaitin-Lefcourt tells The Verge, and 'Persona's model is integrated into the Roblox app with additional UI and logic that has been customized by Roblox.' Users 13 through 17 who have their age confirmed will be able to add each other as Trusted Connections. Teens will only be able to add someone older than 18 as a Trusted Connection if they know them in real life, Kaufman says, and they can do that by scanning a QR code in person or using Roblox's Contact Importer feature. Although chats with Trusted Connections can be unfiltered, Roblox will monitor the conversations for 'critical harm.' 'This includes, but isn't limited to, any predatory behavior aimed at manipulating or harming minors, the sexualization of minors, engaging in inappropriate sexual conversations with or requesting sexual content, and any involvement with child sexual abuse material,' Chaitin-Lefcourt says. Last year, a Bloomberg report highlighted issues with predators on the platform, and the company introduced safety tools like letting parents block and report people on their child's friend list and has banned kids under 13 from accessing 'social hangout' spaces. Age verification has growing momentum behind it — platforms like Bluesky and Reddit also recently rolled out age verification tools in the UK to comply with the Online Safety Act, and the EU is testing a prototype age verification app. Roblox is also introducing new features intended to support users' well-being. A new option will let people control who sees whether they're online. (Before, they could only hide which experience they were in.) Users can also set a Do Not Disturb timeframe to silence Roblox's push notifications, and teens will be able to set their own screentime limits (a feature previously limited to parents).
