Instagram debuts new age-verification tools in UK and EU

Instagram has introduced technology to help verify the age of users in the UK and EU.

Anyone trying to edit their date of birth from that of an under-18 to that of an over-18 must verify their age.

But now, users have the option to record a video of themselves that will be analysed by age-estimation technology, instead of uploading ID.

Instagram said this would help ensure users' experiences on the platform were age appropriate.

In June, Instagram announced it was exploring ways for teenagers to verify their age and comply with platform rules.

And in a US trial, they were given three ways to verify they were over 18:

• upload ID

• ask three adult users to vouch for them

• take a video selfie

Instagram says it already uses artificial intelligence and in-app reports to help determine whether users are under 18 and, indeed, under 13, its minimum age.

But according to research commissioned by UK media regulator Ofcom, one in three children lies about their age to access adult content on social media.

Instagram accounts for under-18s:

• are set to private by default, to reduce unwanted contact from strangers

• use in-app notifications known as "nudges" to encourage users to explore a range of content or spend less time on the app

Instagram public policy director Tara Hopkins said video age verification was an "important step" in delivering safer and better experiences for teenagers on the platform.

"We want everyone to experience Instagram in a way that's appropriate for their age, which means we need to know how old they are - and this is a challenge across our industry," she said.

Instagram already uses video selfies to verify the identity of users locked out of their account

It has now extended its partnership with UK digital identity provider Yoti to use them to verify age.

Instagram's new video-selfie age-estimation process

Yoti's technology estimates age by analysing facial features.

On average, it says, it is accurate to within:

• 1.36 years for six-12-year-olds

• 1.52 years for 13-19-year-olds

Meta, which owns Instagram, says the technology cannot identify anything about users except their age and it and Yoti will delete images once this has been done.

Platforms could face further requirements for verifying the age of younger users under government proposals for the Online Safety Bill, which ministers have said will return to Parliament as soon as possible.