Recent reports reveal that the Instagram app verifies the ages of its teenage users through a video showing the user's image. These measures come in the UK and the EU as part of a major security update for the app. Anyone trying to switch from a child account to an adult account will be required to verify their age by either uploading their personal ID or recording a "selfie" video that will be analyzed by independent technology to estimate their age.
The first step involves uploading a selfie through the Instagram app, using Yoti, a UK-based digital identity company that aims to make identity verification more secure. Yoti analyzes the "selfie" images to accurately determine age groups with precision rates up to 98-99 percent. It works by examining facial features in the video "selfie" and creating an age estimate. Once Instagram and its parent company Meta, along with Yoti, confirm the user's age, the video will be deleted.
The second method of age verification involves uploading a photo of the user's personal ID. Tara Hopkins, Instagram's Director of Public Policy, stated, "We want everyone to experience Instagram in an age-appropriate way, which means we need to know the age - and this is a challenge across our industry." She continued, "That’s why today’s announcement is an important step, and why we are particularly excited to work with Yoti, who are leading the way in building effective age verification technology with privacy in mind. This work complements our ongoing efforts to improve our age detection technology and to develop new methods to provide teenagers with the safest and most meaningful experience on Instagram." This process is triggered if someone attempts to change their date of birth on Instagram from under 18 to over 18.
