Instagram users will be required to share their date of birth to continue using the app. The platform updated its policies, requiring new users to provide their birth dates when signing up. However, older users were able to continue using the app even if they had not provided the info at sign-up.
Instagram will now start asking users for their birth days if the info is not available on their profiles. The app says that eventually, only users who have their birth dates will be able to use the platform.
The prompt to add the birth date will also surface in case a user wants to watch any content marked as sensitive. This means the company wishes to ascertain that you are of age before showing you any content on the popular app.
Read: Instagram Introduces Security Checks for Previously Compromised Accounts
The move is a step towards protecting the safety of children online. Instagram is aware that underage users are signed up on the app. In May this year, the Facebook-owned app confirmed that it was developing an alternative Instagram version for kids under 13 years old.
Recently, the app has announced a host of measures aimed at protecting children’s safety. For instance, adults cannot DM an underage user unless they follow them, and all minor users’ accounts are set to private by default.
The company says it will also start using Artificial Intelligence to obtain info on age if a user does not share. One way is sniffing through comments on birthday posts.
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