United States, July 31: Google is preparing to roll out a machine learning-based age assurance tool in the United States to better identify minors using adult accounts. The new feature, set to launch in the coming weeks for a limited group of users, aims to strengthen protections for children across Google’s ecosystem, particularly on platforms like YouTube and the Google Play Store.

In a blog post, Google said that many children and teenagers bypass its child protection protocols by entering a fake birthdate when signing up. To counter this, the company’s new tool will go beyond self-declared information, using a wide range of behavioral signals such as search patterns, video viewing habits, and app usage to estimate whether a user is under 18.

If the system flags an account as being operated by a minor, Google will automatically activate child safety settings, including:

• YouTube Digital Wellbeing features, like break and bedtime reminders

• Restricted content recommendations and limited repetitive views

• Disabling personalised ads and blocking age-sensitive ad categories

• Turning off the Maps Timeline feature

• Restricting access to adult-only apps on the Play Store

Affected users will receive notifications via email and within Google products, informing them that child-safety features have been activated.

Google acknowledges that false positives are possible, and in such cases, users can verify their actual age through secure processes like uploading a government ID or using selfie-based verification.

The move is part of Google’s broader commitment to child digital safety, especially in light of growing global pressure on tech platforms to better protect younger users online.