Instagram will ask users for their date of birth

Another novelty introduced by the Instagram App to ensure the safety of younger users. In fact, the platform will shortly require you to enter the date of birth. A shrewdness introduced already in 2019, but that users can skip when signing up. “In the coming weeks”, therefore, Instagram will begin asking all those who have not entered the date of birth to do so. In this way the company aims to increase the safety of younger members.

Instagram: App will ask for the date of birth from all users

In the coming weeks, the Instagram App will ask all users to enter their date of birth. And it will do it in two different ways: by sending a notification through the application, or through a message which will appear when users try to view a hidden photo behind a warning screen. In particular, the warnings will appear on the so-called “sensitive content” which, while not violating the rules of the platform, could be considered borderline. Suggestive images or photos of medical procedures, for example. In these cases, users will not be able to view the posts until they enter their date of birth. And this means that younger people may never even see them.

And as if that weren’t enough, the company said it will use artificial intelligence to detect when a user may have provided a fake birthday, and that some users may be asked to “verify” their age. “In the future, if someone tells us they are older than a certain age and our technology tells us otherwise, we will show them a choice of options to verify their age. This work is still in its early stages and we look forward to sharing more soon “. In doing so, Instagram seeks to strengthen its strategies to protect the safety of younger users. Indeed, in this regard, the platform stated that it will make teenagers’ accounts private by default. Another step towards the project of building a platform for under 13s.