Staying on the grid

Getting “verified” on Instagram just took on a whole new meaning. In an effort to better protect its users, Instagram will officially require new users to enter their birthdays when signing up for the app. This new feature will help ensure that children under the age of 13 are protected from data mining and prevent services from collecting their personal information.

This much-needed update is a step in the right direction for the Facebook-owned app to keep children safe and to abide by federal regulations. And Instagram isn’t the only community platform that’s cracking down on content and regulations... YouTube has been working on de-platforming “borderline” content and apparently, according to CEO Susan Wojcicki, it’s working. After an algorithm change, YouTube reports a “70 percent decrease in watch time on those types of videos by non-subscribers.” Meanwhile, recently we’ve probably had a 100% increase on the time we spend watching cats playing the electric piano.