“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,” reads part of the official announcement.
Instagram requires people to punch in their age when they first sign up, and the minimum age for a person to be able to create an account is 13 (in some countries it’s even higher). The idea is to be able to tailor the content for the various age groups – protecting teens (13-17) from harmful content.
Video Selfie: You can choose to upload a video selfie to verify your age. If you choose this option, you’ll see instructions on your screen to guide you. After you take a video selfie, we share the image with Yoti, and nothing else. Yoti’s technology estimates your age based on your facial features and shares that estimate with us. Meta and Yoti then delete the image.
The second option is even more interesting – social vouching. Instagram users will be able to ask three already verified users over the age of 18 to vouch for them. Here’s how it would work:
Social Vouching: This option 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.
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