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Tell HN: Instagram requires you to enter birth date (and provide ID)

6 points by user_named ↗ HN
So I just got a gated "tell us your age" modal on Instagram, both web and in the app. Absolutely no way to get past it without entering my information.

The reason they give is "we'll show you better ads".

Tried to input that I'm 1, 2, 3... years of age (nearest options on the year selector).

It wouldn't accept my age until I got up to 7. Then it let me submit and then locked my account.

Now I had to give them my ID or they will permanently disable my account in 30 days.

I am not a US citizen, I am an EU citizen. There is no reason they can require this information - happy to hear what type of GDPR or other request I can file to get them to remove my birth date and my ID which I just submitted.

19 comments

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throw03172019
Why would you choose age 7.
user_named
Like I said in OP, whatever was closest in the drop down. I don't want to give them my real birth date.
kalleboo
With COPPA in effect in the US, you never want to pick an age under 13 or your account will be disabled.
ja27
To be safe, you also never want to pick an age so that you were under 13 when the account was originally created. Some services will lock you out for that too.
kalleboo
Oh yeah I forgot about that, I've heard stories of that happening (with PayPal IIRC?)
mtmail
In the US the reason is the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), for the UK "The requirement has been introduced just two days before the UK begins enforcing the age appropriate design code." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/31/instagram... I'm not sure if there is a similar EU ruling but such a legal requirements overrules GDPR.

By setting your age to 7 you locked yourself out. Possible they won't allow you to change the birth date and you'd be locked out forever.

user_named
No, they let you appeal and that's when you need to submit id.
mtmail
That's positive then. Below age 13 GDPR doesn't apply, as I understand it companies are not allowed to process any data once they determine one is below that age. "Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) includes specific provisions related to the processing of children’s information — with a hard cap set at age 13 for kids to be able to consent to their data being processed."
icedchai
This sounds like your fault for not using "reasonably looking" fake information.
zinekeller
Yeah, I usually use 1990ish dates (or if only asked for age, around 30) if it's not an important account. Definitely not Instagram's fault, they're just following EU law here.
EddieDante
Instagram is doing you a favor. Life's too short to spend on social media.
speedgoose
I usually give the 1st of January 1970 as birthdate when I don’t want to give my real one.
muzani
It doesn't really matter that you're not a US or EU citizen. It's just easiest to comply with all the laws by not allowing children.

I'm not going to ask users where they're from because that's a level creepier than asking for birth date.

drakonka
They pestered me with this for a while and I kept closing the app. Eventually, they asked me for just my age instead. I stupidly provided my real age, but I wish I'd tried to make something up. I have stopped using Instagram as much as I used to anyway in favor of longer form blog content, and this just convinced me to keep moving away from it. I'm experimenting with building a little Fediverse self-hosted alternative for myself and hope to move to something like that eventually.