What is happening with age verification on Instagram? It’s genius…
In response to ongoing concerns about how social media platforms present teens with various inappropriate content, Instagram has revealed new precautions to carry out, so that children are properly identified in the app.
New tools in place to enhance young user security
Yoti’s system, as described in the video, is trained on a massive dataset of anonymous pictures of people from all over the world.
Yoti’s operation, based on these images, can calculate the exact age of a person, from a video selfie by recognizing a range of variables.
Instagram headquarters state:
“Starting today, we’re testing new options for people on Instagram to verify their age, starting with people based in the US.
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 to verify their age using one of three options: upload their ID, record a video selfie or ask mutual friends to verify their age.”
Yoti has become a leading age verification provider for a range of businesses worldwide and will become a poignant part of Meta’s safeguarding tools.
Furthermore, Meta will be adding a new ‘social vouching’ feature to further confirm the age of users.
“Social vouching allows you to ask mutual followers to confirm how old you are. The person vouching must be at least 18 years old, must not be vouching for anyone else at that time and will need to meet other safeguards we have in place.
The three people you select to vouch for you will receive a request to confirm your age and will need to respond within three days.”
The option to upload your ID to verify your age is the other new regulation.
“We will use your ID to confirm your age and help keep our community safe. Your ID will be stored securely on our servers and is deleted within 30 days.”
Several research findings have revealed that social media platforms, including the likes of Instagram and TikTok, can be dangerous for children users in a number of ways, and that underage usage can expose children to inappropriate content.
These new age verification tools are a critical and essential move.
Although it will not prevent every child from creating an account, the new measures will hinder the ability of children to deceive their way into Meta’s various social networking applications.
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