How does Instagram do new age verification? | Tech Reddy

Instagram expanded its testing to countries including India and Brazil in October, before launching in the UK and EU. Previously, users could provide ID or ask adults to verify their age.

Instagram has required users to provide their age so they can access “relevant experiences” based on their age. People must be at least 13 years old to sign up for an Instagram account but people 13-17 can access different information from people 18 and over. In addition, children under the age of 18 have private accounts by default and limited advertising.

How does Instagram age verification work?

Instagram uses age-calculation technology from software company Yoti to verify the age of users. Users can upload a video of themselves and the technology will analyze it.

Yoti says its technology is accurate within 1.36 years for six to 12 year olds and 1.52 years for 13 to 19 year olds. The technology cannot identify anything other than their age, and Yoti deletes photos immediately after use.

Tara Hopkins, Instagram policy director, said: “We want everyone to experience Instagram in a way that’s appropriate for their age, which means we know their age – and this is a challenge across our industry. That’s why today’s announcement is such an important step, and why we’re so excited to partner with Yoti, who is leading the way in creating effective technology for age verification and privacy.

“This work complements our ongoing efforts to improve our age detection technology and develop new ways to give young people the safest and most meaningful experience possible on Instagram.”

Julie Dawson, chief policy and operations officer at Yoti, said: “Proving the internet age is a complex, industry-wide challenge. We are excited to continue our work with Meta to create age-appropriate experiences to help people feel safe and secure online.

“Our face age estimation is a privacy protection solution. We created it to give everyone a secure way to prove their age without revealing their name or ID documents. The technology allows minors to access content that is appropriate for their age, while protecting users’ privacy. Reading today is another way to create safer online environments.”