Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on February 17, 2022) follows:

Instagram is one of the most popular social networks. Its great success led it to be bought by Facebook (now Meta).

Instagram is focused on multimedia content (photos and short videos). This is how it differs from other social networks based on long posts (such as Facebook) or Twitter (microblogging).

However, it seems that the company is taking age verification more seriously. Multiple recent reports indicate that Instagram is now requesting mandatory birthday information (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11).

Instagram is asking for your birthday (DOB) information

Instagram is starting to ‘force’ users to include a real date of birth in their accounts. This is bothering many users who do not like to share their personal data on any website.

This is a sign instagram is asking for my birthday and I have no issue providing that info but WHY? I am done with this s*it #instagrammarketing #Instagram.
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Instagram: “add your birthday! 🥳”
me: *immediately deletes the app* “don’t ever speak to me again”
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Some users are unable to add their date of birth

Even if users are fine with adding their actual date of birth, some are having issues trying to do so.

Some Instagram users are receiving a ‘Sorry, there was a problem’ error message that prevents them from adding their date of birth to the service, according to reports.

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every time i try to, it says “sorry there was a problem. please try again” and its an endless loop. No matter what browser or device i try to do it on. cant delete the account or anything so now i just have an account. i can never use again unless you fix this bullshit.
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This is why Instagram is asking for your birthday information

The Instagram team offers a statement where they explain the reason for the decision. They point out that Instagram users must be at least 13 years old.

You must be at least 13 years old to have an Instagram account in most countries.

We ask for birthday information to help ensure that underage people aren’t using Instagram. This includes everyone, whether the Instagram account represents you personally, or if the account was created for something else (example: accounts dedicated to a pet, hobby, or brand).
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They also adds that the date of birth helps personalize the experience. In addition, the accounts of children under 13 years of age or those who refuse to include the birthday information could be removed.

This information also helps us provide age-appropriate and safer experiences for the youngest members of the Instagram community. For example, when users under 16 years old (or under 18 in certain countries) sign up for an Instagram account, the account is set to Private by default.

Note: If your Instagram account is under review for being under 13 or you have added your birthday and are under 13, you’ll see a message that says You’re Not Old Enough to Use Instagram and your account will be removed.
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There is still no official acknowledgment from the company about the error that some users are facing when trying to add their date of birth. We will update this story if new events related to the matter arise.

Update 1 (April 06)

03:48 pm (IST): It seems that some users are again facing issues (1, 2, 3) when adding their birthday information on Instagram. Unfortunately, support has not yet acknowledged the issue.

Update 2 (May 3)

10:51 am (IST): Users who have linked their Facebook profiles to Instagram won’t have to fill in their birthday info manually as the app will fetch the information from their Facebook profile itself.

This is why many users haven’t received the pop-up message from Instagram asking for their birthday info.

Update 3 (May 13)

05:24 pm (IST): Fake date of birth will not work on Instagram anymore. The newer and more advanced, AI-based algorithms will now detect accurate age of the user. More on that here.

Update 4 (May 16)

17:50 pm (IST): In case you have added an incorrect date of birth on your Instagram profile previously, here’s how you can edit it on Android, iOS, or a web browser.

Android & iOS:

– Tap profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.

– Tap Edit profile.

– Tap Personal information settings at the bottom.

– Tap Birthday and enter your date of birth, or tap Update on Facebook.

Web browser:

– Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, then click profile Profile.

– Click Edit profile, then click Birthday at the bottom.

– Enter your date of birth, then click Done.

– Click Confirm. (Source)

Update 5 (May 17)

01:49 pm (IST): Instagram age verification system now seems to be creating problems for some users. And many users have got their profiles blocked due to the wrong date of birth (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).

The only choice these users have is to submit an appeal with real identification documents. However, the system is rejecting the documents they submit, while some are getting error messages when trying to send the documents.

This left many users worried since they will have to verify their accounts within 30 days. Otherwise, those accounts will be deleted.

Update 6 (May 23)

12:53 pm (IST): Some users are now reporting that Instagram’s new age detection algorithm is not accepting their date of birth even though it’s correct. It keeps saying that the age is incorrect.

However, one of the affected users said that choosing a different year of birth may help users resolve this error.

Update 7 (May 26)

03:30 pm (IST): It appears that the Instagram reminders asking for the user’s date of birth are now becoming more aggressive. Users are reporting (1, 2) that they are appearing every few minutes.

Update 8 (May 30)

01:12 pm (IST): Many users who have created an account for their pets are also having trouble (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) with date of birth as Instagram interprets it to be the age of the account creator.

So, if you have an Instagram account of your pet, then you should replace the date of birth with yours. Moreover, while creating a new account, users should provide their own date of birth to avoid an account ban.

Update 9 (May 31)

02:03 pm (IST): Scammers are now trying to take advantage of this situation and using bots to approach users and recommend to them someone who is capable of recovering their Instagram accounts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

They are asking users to contact them through Instagram or Whatsapp. If you come across such a response, we advise you not to fall for it as the Instagram support team is the only one that can help you.

Update 10 (June 2)

02:21 pm (IST): Instagram is now becoming more aggressive in asking user’s date of birth. A user reported that Instagram prompted him even when his phone was locked.

And when he unlocked the phone, it directly brought up the Instagram screen even when he did not open the app or click on the notification.

Update 11 (June 6)

04:18 pm (IST): Users are now reporting (1, 2) that they recovered accounts that were locked due to the age verification glitch by contacting Instagram support.

Also, a user pointed out that you won’t get any ‘message delivered’ confirmation after submitting the report, but Instagram support will receive it.

Update 12 (June 23)

06:28 pm (IST): Instagram is now testing new methods for age verification. They include video selfies of the user, vouching from adult friends, and providing an ID. These methods will help them verify if the user is actually 18 or older.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Jean Leon
1613 Posts

A tech enthusiast since ever. I like to always be up to date on the latest news in the industry and write about it. Twitter: @jean_ERdC

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