Facebook, Instagram Ask Users for Photo ID To Verify Accounts

Users of the popular social networking sites seemed frustrated as they were locked out of their accounts from the photo sharing app Instagram and Facebook, its parent website. Both the websites demanded that some of its users upload a valid Government-issued photo ID to retrieve their accounts. The users are left confused as they still do not know whether the prompts issued are genuine. It may also be an attempt to hack their accounts.

According to the reports, the websites do not accept all forms of ID cards and some people were asked for a copy of their birth certificate to access their accounts. The Facebook spokesperson said that Instagram does occasionally remove accounts which violate the terms and its normal for it to ask for ID cards of users for verification.

It is also seen that Instagram had recently updated its TOS. Using real names are mandatory in Facebook, but not so in Instagram and demands for identification have left users puzzled. There are also rumors that the photo sharing website may soon join Facebook and demand real names of users but for now it is not a necessity.

The concerned users are found seeking help from several outlets online, like Yahoo answers, to determine the authenticity of the demand. There are also a number of mails and communications being received by TPM saying that their accounts have been blocked. Both the sites, did not comment anything further on this. The users have got to wait to know the whether the demand would hold out.