(Photo courtesy Instagram)
Instagram requires people to be at least 13 years old to sign up, which in some countries is higher. They do it in order to provide age-appropriate experiences like defaulting them into private accounts, preventing unwanted contact from adults they don’t know, and limiting the options advertisers have to reach them with ads.
The standard way to verify age is to upload a photo ID.
Now they are testing new ways other than photo ID to verify the age of users.
Video Selfie:
You can choose to upload a video selfie to verify your age. When you choose this option, you’ll see instructions on your screen to guide you. After you take a video selfie, Instagram will share the video with Yoti. Yoti’s technology estimates your age based on your facial features. Meta and Yoti don't keep any of the videos.
Yoti's technology cannot recognise your identity—just your age.
Starting October 13, 2022, Instagram has expanded this test to additional countries, including India and Brazil. Instagram also plans to expand to the UK and EU before the end of the year.
