Instagram starts asking for birthdates and will use AI to tell if you’re lying
INSTAGRAM is demanding new users provide their date of birth when creating an account in a move it claims will make the platform safer for youngsters.
The social media firm doesn't allow anyone under the age of 13 to sign up but has previously not asked people for a date of birth when they set up a profile.
Instagram and wider social media have been repeatedly accused of failing to do enough to protect young people who use their services, allowing them to be exposed to harmful content.
The criticism has formed part of calls from campaigners and politicians for stronger regulation of such platforms.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said it will soon also begin using birthday information to tailor experiences in the app.
That means your age will determine the kind of information, account controls and privacy settings are recommended to you.
Safety first
In a blog post announcing the update, Instagram said: "Asking for this information will help prevent underage people from joining Instagram."
It will also "help us keep young people safer and enable more age-appropriate experiences overall," the firm added.
"Your birthday will not be visible to others on Instagram, but you'll be able to see it when viewing your own private account information."
The company also confirmed any users with a connected Facebook account will see their date of birth from Facebook added to their Instagram account.
It said: "This is not public information and only you will be able to see it when viewing your own account information on Instagram.
"Editing your date of birth on Facebook will also change it on Instagram.
Instagram – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Instagram is a social network for sharing photos and videos
- It was created back in October 2010 as an iPhone-exclusive app
- A separate version for Android devices was released 18 months later
- The app rose to popularity thanks to its filters system, which lets you quickly edit your photos with cool effects
- When it first launched, users could only post square 1:1 ratio images, but that rule was changed in 2015
- In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1billion in cash and stock
- In 2018, some analysts believe the app is worth closer to $100billion
- In October 2015, Instagram confirmed that more than 40billion photos had been uploaded to the app
- And in 2018, Instagram revealed that more than a billion people were using the app every month
"If you don't have a Facebook account or if you have not connected your accounts, you can add or edit your birthday directly on Instagram."
Instagram will not verify birthdates because teens often cannot prove their age. It will be left without the birthdays of some existing users.
The firm reckons most people will be honest about birthdates and said artificial intelligence could eventually help with verification.
The existing birthdays, along with some rough analysis by workers poring over posts mentioning “happy birthday” and other terms, has helped Instagram train machine learning software that predicts a user’s age and gender.
The automated prediction also takes into account the variety of posts someone makes and the hashtags used.
'Not good enough'
Experts praised Instagram for a step in the right direction, but urged the site to go further with its age verification process.
"This isn't good enough," said Tony Allen, founder at Age Check Certification Scheme, an independent body that works with providers of age-restricted goods and services to ensure they adhere to the law.
"Whilst it may seem well-intentioned, Instagram's new policy is against the advice of child protection professionals, data experts, age verification providers and ourselves.
"Unverified and self-declared date of birth entry, that supposedly 'proves' users are of a certain age, will simply foster a culture of false personas by underage people.
"This has worrying and far-reaching consequences. Instagram can - and should - commit to implementing robust measures to check and certify the age of its users.
"Anything less is merely paying lip service to its child protection responsibilities."
Also in the update, Instagram said it is changing its rules around direct messaging on the app.
It said the feature will enable users to allow only accounts they follow to directly message them or add them to group chats, tightening the existing rule which uses a request system to filter messages from people a user does not follow.
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In other news, Facebook is working on a 'Close Friends' feature for Stories just like Instagram.
Instagram has removed 1.6million disturbing photos and videos depicting suicide and self-harm this year.
And, Facebook recently admitted that a bug was inadvertently accessing iPhone user cameras as they scrolled through the app.
Do you think kids should be on Instagram? Let us know in the comments!
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