The Meta-owned social media platform is testing new tools to verify ages of US users. The tech was developed by Yoti, an AI digital identity company. Instagram will test new options for users to verify their age, starting with users in the United States.

Figure 1: AI to detect age of the Instagram user.

Figure 1 shows that the new AI-based toolbox was developed by Yoti, a company that specializes in online age verification. Yoti has been approved by a German regulator for youth media protection. "We're testing this so we can make sure teens and adults are in the right experience for their age group," [1]

The testing of new verification tools for anyone trying to change their age from under 18 to over 18 on the platform, including recording a video selfie or asking friends to verify their age.

However, Yoti's own data suggests its tool is generally worse at verifying the ages of women and girls, and people with darker skin. Both Yoti and Meta said the selfies would be deleted after the check. The trial is being carried out only in the US for now. [2]

Kids technically have to be at least 13 to use Instagram, similar to other social media platforms. But some circumvent this either by lying about their age or by having a parent do so. Teens aged 13 to 17, meanwhile, have additional restrictions on their accounts—for instance, adults they are not connected to can't send them messages—until they turn 18.

The use of uploaded IDs is not new, but the other two options are. "We are giving people a variety of options to verify their age and seeing what works best," said Erica Finkle, Meta's director of data governance and public policy.

To use the face-scanning option, a user has to upload a video selfie. That video is then sent to Yoti, a London-based startup that uses people's facial features to estimate their age. Finkle said Meta isn't yet trying to pinpoint under-13s using the technology because it doesn't keep data on that age group—which would be needed to properly train the AI system. But if Yoti does predict a user is too young for Instagram, they'll be asked to prove their age or have their account removed, she said.,

"It doesn't ever recognize, uniquely, anyone," said Julie Dawson, Yoti's chief policy and regulatory officer. "And the image is instantly deleted once we've done it." [3]

References:

1. https://www.dw.com/en/instagram-uses-face-scans-to-verify/a-62239924
2. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/instagram-trials-ai-tool-to-verify-age-of-users
3. https://techxplore.com/news/2022-06-instagram-trials-ai-tool-age.html

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), Instagram Start to Trail a Tool to Verify User’s Age, AnaTechMax, pp.190