Yoti is already available as a standalone age and ID verification tool for free. You can use its mobile app or the web portal to quickly have your age guessed. The company claims it doesn’t store user data. Instagram is testing integration with the software for age verification of its users. This tool has already received approvals for use by the UK government and German digital regulators. It uses various facial signals to estimate a person’s age. Of course, it won’t give you accurate results. The estimation error varies by age range, skin tone, and gender. As you can see in the table below, Yoti’s estimates are less accurate for older people and people with darker skin. Gender-wise, estimation error is higher for females. However, as The Verge notes, Yoti’s tool may not be the most secure way of age verification for Instagram. It could be easily fooled with a photo. Moreover, teen users may also get the help of an older friend to verify their age. Hopefully, the company has thought it around and will have measures in place against it.
Instagram adds new methods for age verification
Instagram officially claims its platform is only for people aged 13 or older. But it never enforced the rule for years. Signing up for the app didn’t require users to verify their age. Perhaps, until 2019, it didn’t even ask new users their birthdates. But in recent years, following scrutiny by child safety experts, Instagram has introduced several methods for users to verify their age. It asks you to send pictures of ID cards, or verify your age using some other way. Along with Yoti’s AI tool, the company is also today introducing social vouching. In this method, Instagram will ask three of your adult mutual followers to confirm your age. They will have three days to respond to the request. Additionally, Instagram also employs other AI-powered systems to verify the age of its users. It scans posts and comments for information on users’ age. For example, if someone mentions their age as 18+ but posts pictures of celebrating their 16th birthday, or if their friends make comments such as “Happy 16th,” the AI systems will flag their account. They may then require to verify their age. According to the new report, Instagram is also testing a language-analysis tool for age estimation. It will look for the way a user writes on the platform to determine whether they are an adult or a teen.
