Twitter is asking users to verify their birthdates when viewing sensitive content in order to prevent minors from viewing inappropriate material.
According to TechCrunch, the microblogging site is gradually rolling out a feature that will prevent users from sending sensitive tweets unless they have a birthdate attached to their accounts and are over the age of 18.
“We are constantly iterating on our work to give people more choice and control over their experience, as well as to make Twitter safer for everyone,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.
“We are slowly rolling out a feature to aid in restricting certain sensitive content from people who are under 18 years old or have not submitted their date of birth.”
Several users reported that the microblogging platform had asked them to mention their birthdates in order to see specific tweets in recent days.
The platform did not specify whether the feature is being rolled out globally. Furthermore, users have expressed concerns about the company’s privacy practises, as the prompt to enter the birthdate to access sensitive content states that the data may be used for targeted advertising.
Twitter’s sensitive content policy covers a wide range of topics, including explicit content, graphic violence, excessive gore, and hateful images.
Although the company does not prohibit explicit content, users who upload it are asked to mark it as sensitive and adjust their account settings accordingly.
