If they haven't done so already, Instagram will ask users to share their birthdays with the service. Today, Instagram announced that it will start prompting users to share their birthday with the service. However, this notification can only be ignored a few times before becoming mandatory. This is part of Instagram's longer-term goal to provide safety features for younger users. These include the privacy protections for teens that were introduced earlier in the year and Instagram's long-term plan to launch an older version of its service that is aimed at younger users.
Instagram introduced new features in March that make it harder for teens to contact adults through the app. In July, Instagram announced more changes to its default settings for users younger than 16. These users will have their accounts made private by the company and they won't be suggested anywhere else in the app. It now blocks adults who are flagged as suspicious accounts from being able interact with other minors and reach out to them.
Instagram will start displaying pop-up notifications to users who haven't yet shared their birthdays.
These notifications will only be displayed a few times. However, users will eventually be required to share their birthday in order to continue using Instagram.
When you see a warning screen on a post, the company will ask you to provide your birthday information. These screens hide sensitive or graphic content. Instagram has never asked for users' birthdays before hiding the content.
The birthday entry form is very simple. Scroll down to select the month, year and day of your birthday.
It is not uncommon for kids to lie on entry forms to get around restrictions. Instagram developed AI technology to identify accounts where kids might have lied. It may be able, for example, to determine someone's birthday by reading comments on Happy Birthday posts where users age may be mentioned. Facebook also suggests further plans in this area. For example, it may require users to verify their age if Facebook's technology finds that their age is not correct based on other signals.
This technology is still in its early stages, according to Instagram. However, it will include a variety of options that will enable someone to verify their age.
It's not just necessary to support the newly launched teen protection features. Instagram also plans to make its app more accessible to younger users, a move that has been met with hostile responses from lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups. A key data point for targeting ads is age. Instagram has rescinded its ability to target teens with interest data or other apps activity, but it will still allow advertisers to target them based on their age, gender, and location.
This company is one of many that has added protections for young teens, in advance of any regulations. In anticipation of regulatory crackdowns, TikTok and YouTube announced changes in the way that younger teens can use their services. Each company has developed its own safety features for teens, but the majority of the changes are to make the default settings more restrictive for teenagers.
Instagram has announced that the new birthday pop up notifications will start appearing on the mobile app this week and will continue rolling out in the coming weeks to reach more users.
