Twitter has an age verification tool – a feature which for the most part went well under the radar, so below we’ll be looking at the tool, how it works and what it does.
The age verification tool, released as a partnership between Twitter and Salesforce, allows accounts to implement rules (based on a user’s age and location) in order to prevent users from following them.
To start: head to age.twitter.com and begin the signup process. Once you’ve gained access you can begin adding the Twitter accounts you wish to implement with the verification tool. You will then have the ability to create a custom message along with a URL which will be sent to users via a Direct message. This URL will need to be clicked to approve their request to follow the restricted account. This is an ideal point at which to state what content may be posted by the account.
Along with a generic approval message, you can be refine requirements for users below a particular age or altogether based on a user’s country of origin. For example, the tool comes with the ability to restrict your account based on the alcohol industry laws for each country (this is automatically populated with the legal drinking age, if there is one).
A good example of this implementation can be seen on the account @EnjoySaint, which requires users to be of the legal drinking limit. It takes responsibility for its content by ensuring that the audience is of a mature and appropriate age to be viewing its alcohol related content.
Whilst not being an entirely bullet-proof system (as users can simply view a user’s profile without following them), it’s certainly a step in the right direction to help safeguard and to ensure that users have the ability to be responsible for what they share. We suspect at some point they might implement a profanity filter (as is available to Facebook Pages) – let us know if you’ve tried the tool – we’re fascinated to learn more.