instagram: Instagram using video selfies to verify identity of users – Times of India

Instagram has again started to use video selfies to verify the user’s identity. The security feature has been in the works for quite some time now. The company tried to roll out the feature in August last year but was forced to delay the plan due to technical issues. It looks like that Facebook-owned company has now resolved all the bugs as the feature is reportedly available globally. It was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra. He also shared the screenshot of the new selfie video verification section.
As per the images, the section shows a “Take a video selfie” message. “We need a short video of turning your head in different directions. This helps us confirm that you’re a real person and confirm your identity.” the message reads further.

The company claims that the video will never be visible on the platform and it will be deleted within 30 days. It also says that it won’t collect biometric data or use face recognition technology. In simple terms, the platform’s artificial intelligence will analyse the selfie video to confirm that a user is a real person.
When is video selfie verification required
As of now, video selfie verification is only required while creating a new Instagram account. No existing users have received the prompt to share a video selfie till now. Instagram is not the only one to use video selfies, the feature is also used by dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble where users need to share their selfie in a certain angle and pose to verify their identity.
Recently, the platform introduced two popular ‘TikTok features’ to Reels — Text-to-Speech and Voice Effects. The Text-to-Speech feature, as the name suggests, creates an artificial voice that reads the text that is provided by the user. The Voice Effects feature allows users to change their own voice that they recorded in a video. Users can change their voice to sound like a robot, a vocalist or others through this feature.