WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms on the market, and it’s always delivering changes to make it better. However, a new change is coming that some people may have an issue with. According to a new report, WhatsApp will require users to enter their birth date in certain states.
We’re following rumors about new changes coming to WhatsApp (so what’s new?). As discovered by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is gearing up to offer interoperability between different apps. This means that you’ll be able to send and receive WhatsApp messages using other apps. We’re not sure when the company is going to launch this feature, but it will be nice when it does.
WhatsApp users will be required to enter their birth date in some states
We’re in a day and age where your personal data is being swept up by just about every online service. However, WhatsApp needing to know your birth date isn’t a move to scrape more data. Certain States in the U.S. like Texas require that online services verify users’ age. In order to avoid any legal troubles, the company is complying with this.
WABetaInfo found some code in version 2.24.12.25 for Android which points to the requirement. As we can see in the screenshot, if you’re in a state that requires age, you’ll see a popup appear when signing up. It asks “When were you born?” We also see that it needs to confirm that you’re at least 15 years old to use the app.
Any of us who’s been on the web since our young teen years are used to putting wrong birth dates into services just to bypass this paper-thin security measure. So, if you’re under 15 years old, it’s easy to put a date that makes you seem older. However, before you do that, you’ll need to realize that you won’t be able to change your date of birth in the app.
