Instagram, a social networking site owned by Meta, is experimenting with new methods to confirm users’ ages. Instagram said that it is testing new methods for confirming users’ ages on the site on June 23, 2022. As stated in the official blog post, “if someone attempts to edit their date of birth on Instagram from under the age of 18 to 18 or over, we’ll require them t verify their age using one of the three options.” These options include their ID, recording a selfie or asking mutual friends to verify their age and will be available in the United States first.
Here are the news ways to verify age on Instagram:
- Video Selfie: Users can upload a video recording of themselves to prove their age. They will be given instructions on their screen if they select this choice, which will lead them. Instagram also makes note of its collaboration with Yoti, an age estimation technology that gauges a user’s age based on facial expressions.
- Social Vouching: Users can use this feature to request age verification from followers who they share on social media. Nevertheless, the person must be at least 18 years old. Users can choose up to three people, and each of them will be asked to verify the users’ age.
- Uploading their ID: The option to upload their ID has been accessible to Instagram users for a while. Users only need to snap a photo of their ID that shows their date of birth, and Instagram will use that information to determine their age.
In an effort to provide users of all ages the best experience possible, Instagram has added additional measures to verify users’ ages. Instagram started requesting users’ ages when registering for an account in 2019. The social media site has since made it a requirement. Instagram in particular permits users who are older than 13 to use the website. The prerequisite is a little bit stricter in some nations.
Nevertheless, Instagram offers age-appropriate content when it is aware of a user’s precise age, protecting young users—especially teenagers—from potentially offensive material. Additionally, Instagram automatically switches young users to private accounts, preventing communication with adults and displaying relevant advertisements.
