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| Instagram uses videos to confirm a user's identity |
According to screenshots posted on Twitter by Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, Instagram is asking some users to submit a selfie video showing multiple angles of their face to confirm that they are real people.
The social network has always struggled with bot accounts that can leave spam, annoy others, or artificially increase the number of likes or followers.
Meta (formerly Facebook, the parent company of Instagram) may consider this feature to limit the spread of bots on the platform.
According to XDA Developers, the company began testing the feature last year. But I had a technical problem. Some users said they were asked to take selfie videos to verify their existing accounts.
Someone else posted a screenshot of the help on Twitter of the steps you're taking along with a selfie video. The screen repeatedly scans questions on every corner of your face to prove that you are a real person. The confirmation screen appears for multiple people.
It is not clear if this feature is experimental or is being rolled out slowly. Mita did not say if everyone should take a selfie at some point. But Instagram tweeted that it may ask accounts with suspicious behavior (such as quickly tracking large numbers of accounts) to take selfies.
The company also reiterated that the feature does not use facial recognition, saying that its team is reviewing the video.
Instagram uses videos to authenticate users
Given the recent announcement of closing facial recognition, this decision may come as a surprise to some people. As the company has since reiterated, it is discontinuing a certain feature on Facebook instead of using all of the descriptive face recognition.
The message below the screenshot also indicates that the feature does not use face recognition and that the video will be deleted after 30 days.
Meta's commitment not to store or publish any data does not comfort some users who do not trust Facebook.
People may remember this vulnerability that allowed an attacker to access an Instagram user's supposed birthday information by sending a direct message (you'll need to provide this information soon to use the app).
The photo-sharing platform no longer removes birthday information the way it does personal videos. But it's hard to blame people for feeling uncomfortable presenting this data. Especially minors or those who want to remain anonymous.