There’s a big change coming for thousands of people on Instagram as a major EU safety update cracks down on younger users.
The changes being made are in a bid to protect children from inappropriate and potentially harmful content going forward.
From today, anyone who attempts to change their date of birth on Instagram from under 18 to over 18 will need to verify their age by:
READ MORE: Vicky Pattison slams Instagram in fiery rant as her new post is removed for 'hate speech'
- uploading their ID
- or record a video selfie which will be analysed by independent age estimation technology
Instagram says the new system will help ensure users are seeing age-appropriate content on the platform after safety campaigners called for age verification technology to become mandatory online.
Instagram's public policy director Tara Hopkins said: "We want everyone to experience Instagram in a way that's appropriate for their age, which means we need to know how old they are - and this is a challenge across our industry.
"That's why today's announcement is such an important step, and why we're particularly excited to be working with Yoti, who are leading the way in building effective technology to verify age while putting privacy first.
"This work complements our ongoing efforts to improve our age detection technology, and to develop new ways to give teens the safest and most meaningful experience possible on Instagram."
Instagram's is partnering with Yoti, a company that works with an age estimation system. The two companies say that after a user records their selfie it is shared with Yoti, it determine an age estimation with Instagram.
They note that Yoti's technology is not facial recognition technology and therefore cannot identify or recognise anyone, so it can only estimate the age of the face it is shown.
No account details will be shared with Yoti and the image is instantly deleted by both Yoti and Instagram after the age has been estimated.
Speaking about the technology being used, Yoti chief policy and regulatory officer, Julie Dawson, said: "Proving age online is a complex, industry-wide challenge.
"We are delighted to continue our work with Meta to create age-appropriate experiences and enable people to thrive and be safe online.
"Our facial age estimation is a privacy-preserving solution. We built it to give everyone a secure way to prove their age without sharing their name or an ID document.
"The technology can allow minors to access content which is appropriate for their age, whilst protecting the privacy of users. Today's announcement is another step in the right direction to create safer online environments."
READ NEXT:
Top Kinahan gangster had ‘escape hatch' in Dublin home 'concealed by hanging carpet’
Do I'm A Celebrity contestants still get paid if they leave ITV show early?
Gardai issue public appeal in search of man missing from Donegal for five days
Pub claps back at outraged woman's complaint over Sunday dinner saying 'you're barred'
I'm A Celeb viewers in 'utter disbelief' after campmates shock exit from first trial of series
