You may claim to simply look ‘younger’ or that you’re using a filter to shave a few years off your face, but that probably won’t help you much if you’re trying to date on Facebook. The social network’s latest announcement has made sure of that.
“We’re bringing our age verification tools to Facebook Dating to verify that only adults are using the service, and to continue our efforts in preventing minors from accessing it,” announced Facebook on Monday.
Starting on Monday this week, the Meta-owned platform will use an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to ensure that only those 18 years and older are accessing Facebook Dating. The reasons are perhaps obvious — managing minors on a platform made for adults is a storm waiting to happen. It’s far easier to just keep the kids out. The platform also adds that the move ensures that users take part in experiences that are appropriate for their age.
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The platform partnered with UK-based company Yoni to enable multiple ways to verify users. Earlier this year, Meta introduced Yoni’s services to Instagram to verify its users’ age. It does this by scanning faces, which isn’t a concerning ability for the company to have at all.
Since Meta began testing age verification tools on Instagram, it claims to have prevented 96% of teens who attempted to illicitly edit their listed age from under 18 to over 18 from doing so.
“We want to make sure people are placed in experiences that are appropriate for their ages, so we use technology to understand where people have misrepresented how old they are,” says the company.
This ‘age detection technology’ is able to detect potential discrepancies in age… in case you’re lying. If the system suspects that you may be lying about your age, it’ll prompt you to verify your age. It will give you two methods of doing so.
Video Selfie
The Video Selfie option requires several steps that end in users filming and sending a video to the platform. A still image from the video is shared with Yoni, which then estimates your age based on facial features.
Facebook says the video and still image will only be used for verification purposes. If you want to date, you’ll just have to take their word on this one.
“ The image is then deleted immediately. The technology cannot recognize your identity — just your age,” says Facebook.
Share your ID
Another option is to upload a form of identification. A copy of your official ID or divers license will do nicely.
“After you upload a copy of your ID, it’ll be encrypted and stored securely, and won’t be visible on your Facebook profile or to other people on the app,” explains Facebook. The platform says you can then manage how long you want your ID to be saved.
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Meta seems to have found yet another loophole to convince users to voluntarily give up more of their privacy. Still, if you want to use the service you’ll have to grant it more access to your personal information. Pay no attention as it continues to collect more of the world’s personal data.
Facebook plans to introduce age detection technology and verification tools to other features that require people to be 18 years old and older.
Source: Facebook