Instagram launches new age verification system

IT will be increasingly difficult to lie about your age on Instagram. The social network is finally rolling out its new feature to verify the age of its users.

Smile, and don't lie, you're on camera. Instagram has launched a new way to ascertain the age of its users with video selfies. Developed in partnership with Yoti, a company specializing in online age verification, the technology will estimate the age of a given user based on their facial features.

While this new form of moderation aims, in particular, to detect underage users, the platform wants to reassure users that their privacy will be respected in the process.

The video selfies taken will not be kept by the social network, which states that content will be deleted automatically within 30 days after analysis. The same goes for recognizing your identity, which is impossible with this system, Instagram emphasizes.

The firm continues: "Instagram doesn’t use facial recognition, and we don't use it in video selfies. We use video selfies to ensure you are a real person and may confirm with human review that you are authorized to access your account."

While users can provide a form of ID to prove their age, for Instagram, the video selfie method will help counter the use of fake documents: "Video selfies help us prevent fake IDs and other abuses." The age verification process also promises to be quicker by video selfie than by ID upload.