Google’s latest move? Making the internet a safer playground for everyone, especially the younger crowd. They’re rolling out a pilot program in the U.S. that uses some pretty smart machine learning to guess how old you are. Why? To make sure what you see online matches your age. Think of it as a digital bouncer, checking IDs at the door. Here’s the scoop: By looking at stuff like what you watch on YouTube or where you surf, Google can tweak settings for users under 18, keeping things on the up and up.
After YouTube’s big boss, Neal Mohan, spilled the beans, we learned that if the system thinks you’re underage, it’ll ask you to prove your age. No, it’s not going to ask for your mom’s note. Instead, it’ll use a few different methods to check. And here’s the kicker: For those it flags as minors, Google turns on the safety nets—like SafeSearch and YouTube’s content filters—automatically. It’s all part of playing nice with laws like KOSA and COPPA 2.0, and honestly, it’s about time.
Google’s not just throwing tech at the problem and hoping for the best. They’re keeping things transparent about how they guess ages and giving parents more tools through the Family Link app. Want to control who your kid chats with or how they spend your money online? There’s an app for that. Looking ahead, Google plans to take this show on the road, expanding globally and even cooking up some educational tools for teens. Because let’s face it, the internet’s not going anywhere, and making it a better place is a win for everyone.
