Instagram to Verify Age and Restrict Content for Teens

If you are prompted to confirm your birth date each time you try to log in on Instagram, that’s no bug. It’s a part of the new policy Instagram launches to protect its younger users (which started way earlier). Now, the social network will detect the age of everyone who’s there and filter content according to it.

Entering your birth date on Instagram has always been optional. From now on, though, users who did not enter it will be met with a prompt. Unless they indicate their age this way, they will be unable to enter Instagram. At the end of the day, all the users on Instagram will have to mandatorily provide their birth dates.

According to this, Instagram will hide posts it considers inappropriate for minors. To view such a post, a user will need to confirm their age. It will also filter ads according to the person’s age, removing inappropriate ads, restricting unrelated ones, and promoting those it considers appropriate by both content of the ads and advertised products.

It’s unlikely that there is a way Instagram will filter fake identities. But at least, it’s the user’s responsibility, not the service. In addition, Instagram tries to detect the real age of a person by indirect signs and attributes. For example, it may be face analysis or birthday wishes and congratulations. Not that it will grant impeccable precision, given how fuzzy the difference may be. But these measures may surprise kids trying to dupe the system.

It’s not the first limitation implemented this year. In March 2021, for example, Instagram blocked adult users from sending private messages to those under 18 (except for their followers). In August, Instagram started applying a new privacy policy to its new users under 16. Finally, ads shown to those under 18 will be filtered to protect their feeds from too adult content and offers.