Instagram demanding users' birthdays to enforce child safety measures

Instagram is requiring all users to supply their date of birth, in a bid to make the Facebook-owned image and video-sharing iOS app safer for younger users.

Many apps request ages for compliance purposes, such as to stay within the rules of COPPA. In a change to the social media app's policies, Instagram is now going to force users to supply that information, or be prevented from using the service entirely.

Instagram started to ask users to supply their birthday in 2019, but it was possible to dismiss the request. Announced on Thursday, users will soon have to actually provide the information without ignoring the notice or else face not being able to use the account.

As well as prompting with an occasional notice, Instagram will start requiring users to enter the birthday to see sensitive or graphic content.

In case an incorrect birthday is given, Instagram is also working on AI to estimate the age of users, based on post content like "Happy Birthday" posts. In theory, the in-development system will identify if a user has added an older age than they really are, which could trigger verification systems to correct the age.

Instagram claims the change will allow it to "create new safety features for young people, and helps ensure we provide the right experiences to the right age group."

In March, Instagram made it harder for adults to send messages to users under the age of 18 who do not follow them. In July, Instagram made it so that new accounts for users aged under 16 would be private by default.

Reports surfaced in March that Instagram was considering a version of the service for children aged 13 or under. The rumors prompted attorneys general from 44 states to ask Facebook to reconsider its creation.

17 Comments

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

About 3 years ago

Oh really? Okay, I’m 13 but I’ll enter my birth date so I’m 18 on your site. How to you plan to authenticate my age? Or is this simply CYA on your part? “She lied about her age so we are not responsible."

DAalseth 3033 comments · 6 Years

lkrupp said:

Oh really? Okay, I’m 13 but I’ll enter my birth date so I’m 18 on your site. How to you plan to authenticate my age? Or is this simply CYA on your part? “She lied about her age so we are not responsible."

Pure CYA. I plan to enter a fake date. My BD? April 15, 1905. That sound good FB?
Reminds me of when I had a FB account with all fake data, name, BD, address, etc. One day they made a big deal of how they would start requiring real names for safety and security, and would notify anyone using a fake name. But they never called me for using Imma Actor as my name.
It’s all show.

Japhey 1772 comments · 6 Years

DAalseth said:

lkrupp said:

Oh really? Okay, I’m 13 but I’ll enter my birth date so I’m 18 on your site. How to you plan to authenticate my age? Or is this simply CYA on your part? “She lied about her age so we are not responsible."

Pure CYA. I plan to enter a fake date. My BD? April 15, 1905. That sound good FB?
Reminds me of when I had a FB account with all fake data, name, BD, address, etc. One day they made a big deal of how they would start requiring real names for safety and security, and would notify anyone using a fake name. But they never called me for using Imma Actor as my name.
It’s all show.

I had a ghost account for FB too, back the day. I used it whenever certain apps or websites required one in order to register and use them. Like you, I was never contacted by FB, at all, when they made a big thing out of their new security protocols. I expect these new Insta measures will be more of the same…nothing but hot air.

fastasleep 6450 comments · 14 Years

Japhey said:

DAalseth said:

lkrupp said:

Oh really? Okay, I’m 13 but I’ll enter my birth date so I’m 18 on your site. How to you plan to authenticate my age? Or is this simply CYA on your part? “She lied about her age so we are not responsible."

Pure CYA. I plan to enter a fake date. My BD? April 15, 1905. That sound good FB?
Reminds me of when I had a FB account with all fake data, name, BD, address, etc. One day they made a big deal of how they would start requiring real names for safety and security, and would notify anyone using a fake name. But they never called me for using Imma Actor as my name.
It’s all show.

I had a ghost account for FB too, back the day. I used it whenever certain apps or websites required one in order to register and use them. Like you, I was never contacted by FB, at all, when they made a big thing out of their new security protocols. I expect these new Insta measures will be more of the same…nothing but hot air.

They have three billion active users between those two services alone. Millions of reports of threats and violence and porn and nazis and misinformation and scams. But yeah, they’re really concerned about your sockpuppet account and are going to personally contact you about it.

lukevaxhacker 112 comments · 20 Years

I wouldn't call my user name "fake" but definitely a persona. Even have a Yahoo email address. Are they going to insist "Charlie Sheen" use "Charles Estevez"? Or fake name filtering? Met someone at SiliCon whose name is Peter Parker. Better yet is Rear Admiral James A. Kirk, USN, now commanding CSG 15 (Call Sign Tiberius)!