YouTube is rolling out a machine learning-based age verification system aimed at identifying teen users — even if they claim to be adults.
The system analyzes user behavior like search terms, watch history, and account age to determine whether an account likely belongs to a teen.
If flagged, YouTube will automatically disable personalized ads, activate digital wellbeing tools, and apply other teen safety settings.
Adults mistakenly identified as teens will need to verify their age using government ID or a credit card.
This new feature is currently being tested with a subset of US users before a wider rollout. YouTube says the same system has already worked effectively in other countries.
The move comes as tech platforms face mounting pressure to protect young users online. Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft are all experimenting with similar AI age-check tools — but questions about privacy, false positives, and circumvention remain.