YouTube AI Can Predict if You’re Under 18—and Restrict Your Account Accordingly

YouTube is testing AI age-verification technology in the U.S. to predict if you’re under 18, regardless of the birthday entered on your account.

If you’re the parent of a kid who watches YouTube—or if you’re a YouTube-loving kid yourself—you might find certain restrictions appearing on your account. The Google-owned video platform is testing AI age-verification technology in the U.S. that can predict users under 18 and place restrictions on their accounts as a result.

According to YouTube, this is part of a move to provide better protections for younger users. The company’s “age-estimation model” started rolling out in the U.S. on Wednesday to determine if someone is under 18—regardless of the information entered on their account.

The initial rollout of the feature covers only a “small set of users” in the U.S. to estimate their age. “This technology will allow us to infer a user’s age and then use that signal, regardless of the birthday in the account, to deliver our age-appropriate product experiences and protections,” says James Beser, senior director of product management for YouTube’s youth products.

If this system’s AI-based system calculates that someone is likely to be under 18, it will place restrictions on the account and add other security measures. YouTube says users will “have the option to verify [their] age” through “government ID, selfie, or credit card,” if they believe the age estimation model is incorrect.

According to Beser, YouTube has already used machine learning to estimate users’ ages in other countries “for some time,” and that it is “working well.” Now, in the U.S., YouTube will “closely monitor the user experience and partner with creators to ensure that the entire ecosystem benefits from this update,” says Beser.

YouTube’s age estimation model uses a variety of signals, including YouTube activity and the longevity of the account. Users determined to be likely under 19 will be notified, while “standard protections for teen accounts on YouTube will automatically be enabled.”

These include showing only non-personalized ads, enabling “digital wellbeing” tools like “take a break” and bedtime reminders, showing reminders about privacy, minimizing recommendations of content that could be “problematic,” and blocking access to videos that are age-restricted.

For creators, additional protections as a result of this change will include setting uploads as private by default and restricting the ability to earn from gifts on vertical live streams. YouTube says the changes are expected to have “limited impact” for most creators, but noted that “some creators may experience a shift in their audience categorized as teens,” which may result in a decrease in ad revenue.