Instagram users will have to provide their birthday to the company if they want to continue using the social media app.
Like many tech companies, Instagram is taking additional steps to protect children from threats. As part of that, they will require users to disclose their birthday so the company knows which accounts belong to minors.
The company has made it clear that those refusing to provide the information will not be able to continue using the app.
“First, we’ll start to ask you for your birthday when you open Instagram. We’ll show you a notification a handful of times and if you haven’t provided us with your birthday by a certain point, you’ll need to share it to continue using Instagram,” writes Pavni Diwanji, VP of Youth Products. “This information is necessary for new features we’re developing to protect young people.”
The company will also include a birthday request in its warning screens for age-sensitive content.
“Second, if you see warning screens placed on posts, we’ll ask you for your birthday before you can see the post,” Diwanji conintues. “These screens aren’t new, and we already show them on posts that may be sensitive or graphic, but we don’t currently ask for your birthday when viewing these posts. Now, we’ll start asking for your birthday on some of these screens if you haven’t shared it with us previously.”
The company has also indicated it’s working on a system to detect when someone lies about their birthday.