As part of a broader effort to make its platform safer for young users, Instagram will require everyone to share their birthday. If you don’t want to give this data to Instagram, you won’t finally be able to use the app.
Instagram says goal is to create a safer, more privacy-oriented experience for children who use the platform and keep them away from potentially predatory adults.
Earlier this year, the company owned Facebook announced which would launch several new features designed to protect users under 18. These features include private profiles for children, restrictions on who can send them messages, and algorithms designed to identify and censor adult users who show signs of creepy behavior. Now Instagram has said it will add a basic age verification feature.
Soon, when you sign in, Instagram will ask you to add your birthday (if you haven’t already). You will be asked several times to enter your DOB voluntarily. If you haven’t shared it to a certain extent, Instagram will basically block you until you provide any.
For users who enter incorrect information about their birthday, the company plans to take advantage of a new algorithm designed to analyze your posts and determine if you are telling the truth about your age or not. Not many details are provided, but the company briefly summarized its plans:
“We recognize that some people can give us the wrong birthday and we are developing new systems to fix it,” Instagram wrote. “As we shared recently, we use artificial intelligence to calculate which seniors are based on “Happy Birthday” publications. “Creepy or innovative? You decide.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Overall, age verification seems like a pretty common sense feature for social media platforms, even to identify who uses the platform and reduce cat fishing.
At the same time, Instagram has also been plotting to launch a version of its platform specifically aimed at children Under 13 years. This change clearly requires a focus on greater protection of privacy, as the company tries to address a particularly vulnerable online demographic population.