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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Google is implementing a new AI-powered age verification method.
- Machine learning will analyze your activity (mostly on YouTube) to guess your age.
- If AI guesses wrong, you'll need to go through a verification process.
A day after announcing AI-powered age verification on YouTube, which we explained in more detail yesterday, Google is launching it on a larger scale, and again it's on you to sort out any problems if AI guesses wrong.
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In a post announcing "a safer online experience for US kids and teens," Google says it's introducing new technology to distinguish between older and younger users. This technology will analyze your online activity and make an attempt at guessing your age. If it thinks you're under 18, your account will be restricted until you can prove you're older.
This process has been in testing in other markets, and Google says it worked well.
How Google estimates your age
Google says its age-estimation model uses machine learning to interpret "a variety of signals." It notes that these signals are already associated with your account and that it's not gathering any new information. These signals include the types of information you search for on YouTube, the categories of videos you watch, and the age of the account itself.
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Even though the age restrictions apply to multiple Google products and services, it seems like YouTube is the only potential source of age information for now outside of how long ago you created your account.
What happens next
When Google thinks a user is under 18, several things will happen. First, the user will see a notification and a link to verify their age if they are over 18. The user will receive an email, too, explaining how settings have changed and how adults can verify their age. If AI guesses wrong and falsely flags you as under 18, you'll need to upload a credit card or government ID, or take a selfie to restore your account.
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If age isn't verified, Google will turn on YouTube Digital Wellbeing tools (which include things like bedtime and break reminders and safeguards on content recommendations), disable Timeline in Maps, turn off personalized advertising, and prevent the user from accessing Google Play apps intended for adults.
Google insists the technology has worked well in other settings, but you have to wonder how accurate it will be. Could letting your kids watch enough YouTube on a road trip trick Google into thinking you have a kid's profile? Will savvy kids figure out they need to watch just enough normal content to avoid restrictions?
Age assurance is coming to "a small set of users in the US" over the next few weeks before a wider rollout later in the year.
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