Instagram said on Thursday that it is testing new ways for users to verify their age on the platform, starting with those in the US. The image-sharing platform said it has partnered with Yoti, a company that specializes in online age verification by simply scanning faces.
in present, instagram Asks users to verify their age only when teens try to edit their date of birth to show as 18 years of age or older. To verify their age, users can send pictures of various ID cards.
“When we learn that someone is a teenager (13-17 years old), we provide them with age-appropriate experiences such as letting them default into private accounts, preventing unwanted contact with adults they do not know and limit the options that advertisers have to reach them with ads,” Erica Finkel, director of data governance at Meta, said in a blog post.
Now, the company is testing two new ways to verify a user’s age, while also allowing them to upload their identity proof online. 1) Social Vouching and 2) AI Estimation.
In the first method, Social Vouching, Instagram will ask the user to select three mutual followers to confirm their age, and the person doing the vouching must be at least 18 years old.
In the second method, AI Estimation, users can upload a video selfie to verify their age, which is followed by Yoti’s photo. machine learning The technology estimates their age based on facial features. Both Meta and Yoti will delete the image once the age is confirmed.
Yoti is a well known player in online age and ID verification. It uses different facial cues to estimate the target’s age.
The move comes after Instagram halted the launch of Instagram Kids last year, after receiving criticism and opposition for the project.
Instagram Kids had children under the age of 13 as its target audience. This version of Instagram was intended to provide age-appropriate content to children allowing parents to monitor usage. Competitors TikTok and YouTube already have versions of their apps developed specifically for kids.
The decision to put Instagram Kids on hold comes after a scathing series by the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Facebook knew the use of Instagram by some teenage girls caused mental health issues and anxiety. US lawmakers and advocacy groups urged the image-sharing platform to drop its launch plans, citing security concerns.