Facebook Dating in the US can verify age via facial scan

Meta now gives American users of Facebook Dating the option to have their age verified via a facial scan. The facial features are then used to estimate a user’s age without identifying him.

Meta announces in a blog post Facebook Dating users in the United States can now prove they are over 18 in two ways. This can be done by sending a copy of an ID or a selfie video. A request for verification will only be made if Meta suspects that the user is a minor.

The selfie video is examined by the facial scanning software of Yoti, a software company that specializes in digital identity verification. Meta says the software will only see an image from the video “and nothing more.” It can take up to twenty minutes for the user’s age to be checked and the app to show the results. “Yoti’s technology estimates your age based on your facial features, shares that estimate with us, and then immediately deletes the image. The technology cannot recognize your identity, only your age,” Meta writes.

The feature is now only available in the US. It is not yet known whether it will be rolled out worldwide at a later date. Facebook Dating has been available in the Benelux since 2020.