Meta’s using AI bone structure analysis to keep kids off its apps


Meta is stepping up its efforts to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram. It’s now turning to AI-powered visual analysis, including cues like bone structure and height, to do it.

The company says it’s combining this with existing detection methods, such as scanning profiles, captions and interactions for hints about a user’s age. That includes things like mentions of school years or birthday posts, but the newer layer goes further. It analyses photos and videos to estimate whether someone might be underage.

Meta is keen to stress that this isn’t facial recognition. Instead, it says the system looks for “general themes and visual cues” to work out an approximate age range, rather than identifying a specific person. The idea is that combining visual signals with text and behavioural data improves its chances of spotting accounts that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

If Meta flags an account as potentially under 13, it will deactivate the account. Users must then provide proof of age to restore access; otherwise, Meta removes the account entirely.

This visual analysis system is currently being tested in select countries, with a wider rollout expected over time. At the same time, Meta is expanding tools aimed at teenagers. The system can automatically place users aged 13 to 15 into teen accounts, which include added protections and parental controls.

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Those safeguards are now being extended more broadly. Instagram is rolling out this age-detection tech across Brazil and 27 EU countries. Meanwhile, Facebook is getting similar systems in the US first, followed by the EU and UK. WhatsApp has also introduced parent-managed accounts to allow younger users to access the app under supervision.

The push comes as Meta faces increasing regulatory pressure to better protect children online. The European Commission recently flagged concerns that the company may not be doing enough under the Digital Services Act, adding urgency to these updates.



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Virtually every new SUV will depreciate in value over its life as the miles rack up and components start to wear out. However, some of them depreciate much faster than others. At one end of the spectrum, there are some models from the likes of Cadillac, Tesla, and Infiniti, all of which can lose close to two-thirds of their value after just half a decade on the road. That makes them some of the worst-depreciating SUVs on the market. At the other end, there are SUVs like the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The exact resale value of any used car will depend on factors like its trim, condition, and mileage, but on average, Land Cruiser owners can expect a higher trade-in value than most rivals will fetch. According to data from CarEdge, a new Land Cruiser can be expected to lose around 35% of its original value after five years on the road, assuming it covers around 13,500 miles annually.

Estimates from iSeeCars make for equally encouraging reading for Land Cruiser owners, with the outlet estimating that after five years, a new example will lose just 34.4% of its sticker price. Even after seven years on the road, iSeeCars estimates that the average Land Cruiser will still be worth a little over half of what buyers originally paid for it.

The Land Cruiser holds its value well

The estimate from iSeeCars puts the Land Cruiser slightly ahead of average for value retention in the large hybrid SUV segment, and significantly ahead of the overall market average for new SUVs. According to the same data, the average new SUV can expect to lose 44.9% of its value over the same period, over 10% more than the Land Cruiser. That said, a different Toyota SUV is forecast to retain even more of its value.

Since the 2025 model year, both the Land Cruiser and the 4Runner have shared their platform and hybrid powertrains. However, according to current estimates, the 4Runner is the clear winner when it comes to resale value. Data from iSeeCars forecasts that a new, non-hybrid 4Runner is likely to lose only 25.4% of its value after its first five years, and CarEdge predicts almost exactly the same figure. According to the former outlet, a hybrid 4Runner will lose slightly more of its value over the same timeframe, shedding 28.6% on average.

While the 4Runner is the better choice purely for value retention, that only forms part of the equation for most buyers. The Land Cruiser remains appealing thanks to its mix of off-road capability and on-road refinement, with even the base 2026 trim offering plenty of standard features, despite missing out on the luxuries that higher trims include.





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