Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Soon, WhatsApp will ask certain users to fill in their birth year in order to continue using the app.
- Your birth year will not be shown in the app.
- Instead, it appears this prompt is in response to certain US states having age verification laws.
Recently, certain states in the US have passed age verification laws. Intended to curb children’s access to pornographic materials as well as protect children from accessing sites without their parents’ permission, the laws are popping up at a fast pace in mostly Republican states across the nation. There are also bills in various stages of development in other states.
Now, it looks like Meta is getting WhatsApp ready to comply with these laws. According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (v.2.24.12.25) includes code that presents certain users with a prompt asking for birth year information. The prompt warns you that you cannot change the information later and that you are required to provide it to continue using WhatsApp.
Check out a screenshot below of what this prompt page will probably look like when it starts rolling out to the general public:
Although it’s not immediately clear from the information we have, it is incredibly likely this upcoming change is in response to age verification laws throughout the United States.
Thankfully, the leaked info makes it clear that Meta will not show anyone your birth year information within WhatsApp. It is likely only presenting this form to be in compliance with local laws.
As such, it’s also incredibly likely that you’ll only see this alert if you reside in a state with age verification laws or are visiting there. This is similar to how PornHub responded to the age verification laws of certain states. However, in the case of PornHub, there is no age verification box. Instead, access to the site is entirely blocked for residents of those states with a page of long text explaining why age verification systems don’t work, are easily bypassed, and could actually be more dangerous than helpful.
As of today, these are the following US states with age verification laws passed. As such, these are the states in which you’ll most likely see this WhatsApp birth year prompt whenever it rolls out:
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
