Some users have reportedly been asked by Instagram to provide a video selfie taken from multiple angles to verify their account. According to XDADevelopers, several users have said they were asked to take a video selfie to verify their current accounts.
For the uninitiated, the social platform began testing the feature last year, but stopped midway because of technical issues. Instagram has struggled with the issue of bot accounts for a long time, and such accounts usually send spam messages, harass other users and artificially inflate followers. This is the reason why the app is looking to curb the prevalence of bots on the platform.
Instagram hopes to establish the identity of the user behind the account to eliminate bot accounts. Image: Nandini Yadav/tech2
Instagram’s public relations team on Twitter stated that accounts with suspicious behaviour could be asked to submit a video selfie. The company reiterated the feature doesn’t use facial recognition, adding that its teams review the videos to establish if “there’s a real person behind the account”.
Meanwhile, as per a screenshot posted by a social media consultant Matt Navarra on Twitter, he informed that the photo sharing app is confirming the identity of users by video selfies while “Meta promises not to collect biometric data.”
Another user shared a screenshot of the help screen requesting the user to submit a video selfie. The image showed that on opening the feature, the app asks for a video showing all angles of one’s face to prove that they are a real person. Furthermore, it also shows the verification screen for multiple people.
Account users will have to submit the video, after it has been recorded, to the platform for confirmation of identity. Additionally, Instagram promises the video will not be visible on the platform and will be deleted within 30 days from the company’s servers.
So far, it is unclear whether this feature is still being tested or being gradually rolled out. But it’s clear that through this process, Meta is looking to reduce the number of fake or spam accounts on the platform. However, Meta has not commented on whether everyone would eventually have to submit a video selfie.
The company is also testing its ‘Take A Break’ feature, which will remind users to close the app after they have been on it for a specified duration.