Meta-owned Instagram started testing new options for users on the platform to verify their age a few months ago, in a bid to make way for providing age-appropriate experiences and content. The popular photo-sharing platform is expanding the test to India and Brazil and with the new age verification system, users will not let be able to fake their age on Instagram.
The company will expand the age verification testing to two more countries by the end of the year.
"Starting today, we’re expanding this test to additional countries including India and Brazil. We plan to expand to the UK and EU before the end of the year. We’re also removing Social Vouching as an option to verify age from the test to make some improvements," the Meta-owned company said in a statement.
Earlier in June, Instagram started testing new options for people on the platform to verify their age, starting with users based in the US. The process works like this: For example, if someone attempts to edit their date of birth on Instagram from under the age of 18 to 18 or over, Instagram will ask them to verify their age using one of three options -- upload their ID, record a video selfie or ask mutual friends to verify their age.
"We’re testing this so we can make sure teens and adults are in the right experience for their age group. We are also partnering with Yoti, a company that specializes in online age verification, to help ensure people’s privacy," the company had earlier said.
The Meta-owned company started asking users in 2019 to provide their age when signing up for Instagram. Since then, it has made this a requirement.
A user is required to be at least 13 years old to sign up for Instagram. In some countries, this minimum age is even higher.
"When we know if someone is a teen (13-17), we provide them with 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," Instagram noted.