On Tuesday, facebook-owned photo and video sharing social networking service, Instagram said that it has started testing new options for verifying users age on the platform.
Testing In Progress
The testing has already started with people in the United States.
Instagram mentioned that it is testing two new ways to verify a person’s age along with allowing them to upload their identity proof online.
The photo-sharing service owned by Meta Platforms Inc (META.O)
Erica Finkle, the director of data governance at Meta, the firm who owns the photo-sharing service, writes, “When we know if someone is a teen (13-17 years), we provide them with age-appropriate experiences like defaulting them into private accounts, preventing unwanted contact from adults they don’t know and limiting the options advertisers have to reach them with ads,” in a blog post.
To make it possible, Instagram has partnered with Yoti, which is a firm that specializes in online age verification to ensure users’ privacy.
How Does It Work?
For verifying the age, the user has to upload a video selfie, which Yoti’s technology will Analyze to estimate their age based on facial features.
It is noteworthy here that both Meta and Yoti will delete the image after the verification of the age of the uset, said Instagram.
The second option is that the user will have to select three mutual followers to confirm the user’s age.
But, here it is compulsory that the person vouching must be at least 18 years old.
The social media firm has come up with this move as it paused the launch of Instagram Kids last year due to receiving criticism and opposition for the project.
coming to Instagram Kids, it was touted as requiring parental permission to join, and was supposed to provide ad-free, age-appropriate content.
Although, citing safety concerns, U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups urged the company to drop its launch plans.
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