Meta is testing a new age verification system on Facebook’s dating platform to determine if you’re over 18 — but only if you live in the US.
Age verification on facebook dating (Opens in a new tab) It seems to be taking cues from the Tinder and Bumble platforms. Meta will give users two different ways to verify their age: either through a video selfie or by uploading a photo of their ID, which is very similar to the method Facebook confirms account identities (Opens in a new tab).
For selfies, the platform is getting some help from digital identity company Yoti. According to Meta, video selfies work by giving users a series of instructions on the Facebook app telling them to take certain poses while their smartphone camera records them.
This video is then sent to Yoti where the company will scan your face and estimate your age. If you specify that your face is over 18 years old, your profile will now be verified. Meta confirms that neither company will save your video selfies as each one will be deleted immediately after determining your age. And AI will not learn people’s faces or recognize their identities.
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If the name “Yoti” sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same company that Meta uses Instagram age verification system to protect the palace. Video selfies are used in a similar way with users doing certain poses after which the system takes about 20 minutes to verify their age. But unlike Facebook, Yoti appears to keep data from Instagram (within 30 days of uploading) rather than deleting it immediately.
The ad also claims that Yoti trained the AI by showing it “individuals of different age groups, genders and skin colours”. Face recognition technology has had a sketchy past with accuracy and recognition of people with dark skin. Plus many are worried about their faces being tracked. On the face of it, the Meta addresses those concerns, which is fine, but no one can blame you if you’re still worried.
We asked Meta if and when facial recognition testing will go to other global regions. Facebook Dating is available in over 50 other countries including Argentina, Singapore, and the United Kingdom to name a few. This story will be updated at a later date.
Tough competition
At this point, you’re probably telling yourself you didn’t know Facebook had a dating service. By all accounts, Facebook Dating isn’t a very popular service, at least not in the United States due to some tough competition of gigantic proportions.
Meta has never provided verifiable evidence of how many people use Facebook Dating. The closest we can find is a 2021 report from The Verge (Opens in a new tab) Which states that 278,000 single people in New York City use Facebook Dating. To put that in perspective, Bumble has claimed three million users in New York again in 2018 (Opens in a new tab). We can’t help but wonder what will happen first: shutting down Facebook Dating or launching age verification.
Make sure you check out TechRadar’s list of the best dating apps of 2022 If you are looking for a platform with a lot of options to check out.