Instagram has made a recent change and is now forcing the users to enter their date of birth before they can be allowed to use the app. Approximately 8 months ago, the popular social media platform had announced that it is planning to make age verification mandatory on its platform. And now the users are starting to get prompts on Instagram to fill their birthday details.
The primary objective behind this update is to restrict kids below 13 years of age from accessing the app. Using the given date of birth, Instagram will also be able to use it to provide the users with better targeted ads.
The screen prompt says that the user needs to provide their birthday, even if the account is for a business or even a pet. It further says that it helps to protect the younger people in the community and to personalize the experience. The date won’t be a part of the public profile.
Many users are not quite happy with this change and have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment. This feature was optional in 2019, but was made mandatory last year. However, up until now the app was accessible to users who skipped those prompts and did not provide the details.
why is Instagram asking for my birthday ?
— Phoebe ? (@pbjisabella) May 3, 2022
instagram is asking for my birthday… probably a good time to just delete the app
— joSe (@joserloser) May 3, 2022
So now Instagram/Meta forces you to add your birthday not only to protect younger ones but also to include *MORE* ads to your feed… ? pic.twitter.com/yoQXaBVp0b
— Carlos Argueta (@charlieargueta) May 3, 2022
Now you may ask, what about the young users who can bypass restrictions by providing fake birth date details? Well, both Instagram and Facebook have a system backed by artificial intelligence to detect the accurate age of its users.
Facebook and Instagram parent Meta were working on a version of Instagram focussed on kids last year. It was due to growing interest from young users and the strong criticism faced by government bodies including the US Congress. Authorities like the US State Attorneys General and advocacy groups however requested the company to drop its plans. And after all the outrage, the development of the app was paused in September.
However Meta hasn’t completed scraped off the plan and now by restricting access for kids in the current version of Instagram can eventually help to redirect the young audience to the new app that might be launched in the future.
