- Facebook Dating introduces age verification test to help continue preventing teens from accessing the 18+ experience
- Meta continues to work with Yoti who specialise in privacy-preserving ways to verify age
- The move follows age verification being introduced on Instagram earlier this year. Of those asked to verify their age, 81% of teens chose Yoti’s facial age estimation technology to complete the age check
5th December 2022, London, UK – Today, Facebook Dating has introduced age verification to verify that only adults are using the service and to help prevent teens from accessing it. This will initially be for people based in the US. Digital identity company Yoti will provide one of the age assurance tools, to ensure only adults can access the 18+ experience.
If Meta’s age detection technology finds potential discrepancies in the age someone provides and their suspected age, they will be prompted to verify their age. There will be two options to do this: upload an ID document or use Yoti’s facial age estimation technology. Providing people with more than one option allows them to select a method that best fits their needs and preferences.
Facebook Dating is the first online dating platform to introduce Yoti’s facial age estimation technology in the US to verify the age of users. The move follows age verification being introduced on Instagram earlier this year.
Julie Dawson, Yoti Chief Policy & Regulatory Officer said, “Enabling young people to thrive and be safe online is of the utmost importance. So we’re delighted to continue our work with Meta to create age appropriate experiences, this time on Facebook Dating. Daters can have greater confidence in who they are meeting online, and most importantly, young people will be better protected from accessing inappropriate content and experiences.”
Erica Finkle, Meta Director of Data Governance said, “Our age verification tests show that our tools are working to help keep young people within age-appropriate experiences, and we’re proud to partner with Yoti to provide people with simple to use options that respect their privacy.”
Yoti facial age estimation is a privacy-preserving solution that estimates someone’s age from a selfie. It was built to give everyone a secure way to prove their age without sharing their name or ID document. All images are instantly deleted once someone receives their estimated age.
Notes to editors:
In June 2022, Meta introduced age verification to Instagram users in the US. If someone attempts to edit their date of birth on Instagram from under the age of 18 to 18 or over, they are required to verify their age. They can do this by uploading an ID document or using Yoti’s facial age estimation technology. Age verification was expanded to Instagram in other countries following the success in the US – including the UK, Europe, Brazil and India.
Yoti Facial Age Estimation whitepaper – https://www.yoti.com/wp-content/uploads/Yoti-Age-Estimation-White-Paper-Executive-Summary-May-2022.pdf