Instagram has announced some updates that will build a safer environment for its young users and make their experience better. Starting from December 4, Instagram will ask new users to indicate their date of birth while registering. Before that, users didn’t have to provide the exact birthdate because they only needed to confirm whether they were 13 or older. Users that already have an account won’t need to indicate their birthdays.
Starting today, we’ll ask for your birthdate when creating an account, and in the coming weeks, we'll give you more control over who can message you.
— Instagram (@instagram) December 4, 2019
This will help us keep young people safer and enable more age-appropriate experiences. Learn more: https://t.co/j7HuSB9Mng pic.twitter.com/8k1cejWal5
According to Instagram’s Info Center, users now need to be at least 13 years old to register:
Asking for this information will help prevent underage people from joining Instagram, help us keep young people safer and enable more age-appropriate experiences overall.
The new update might help to provide a more friendly experience for young Instagram users by showing them more appropriate content and allowing them to choose more personalized privacy settings.
Besides, Instagram assures that this information will not be visible for others. Instead, users will be able to find this information in their own account.
If you have your Instagram account linked to a Facebook account, the birthdate specified on the Facebook account will be automatically added. If there’s no Facebook account, users can add or edit their birthdate in the Instagram app.
Furthermore, the photo and video sharing app will let users control who sends them direct messages; thus, you will be able to restrict messages from people and accounts that you do not follow.
The new birthdate indication update is rather controversial. It is obvious that people can fake their dates of birth and lie about their age while no additional checks will be provided.
