An Instagram ID request can interrupt your login and leave you wondering why you need to share a personal document. Instagram uses verification to check age, address suspected underage use, confirm account ownership during recovery, and process Meta Verified enrollment. Match the request to the right process below so you know what to submit and where to get help.
Start with the request inside Instagram
Before submitting anything, check what Instagram is asking you to prove.
- 1.Open Instagram directly and read the request presented for your account.
- 2.Identify whether it concerns your age, an underage restriction, account recovery, or Meta Verified enrollment. Each has a different process.
- 3.Keep account-security conversations out of DMs. Instagram warns against account-security DMs, and you must initiate its support-assistant chats yourself.
- 4.Continue through the matching verification process presented in Instagram.
Submit ID when Instagram needs proof of age
An age check can follow an attempt to change your birthday from under 18 to over 18. Meta also uses ID or Yoti checks to address suspected age misrepresentation.
Open the age-verification request presented in Instagram.
Choose the ID-upload option. Meta confirms that a driver's license or ID card can be used for this process.
Submit the document requested on that screen. The available choices depend on your account and region; there is no universal settings path for every age check.
Choose a video selfie when the age check offers one
Eligible age-verification requests offer a video selfie as an alternative to uploading ID, with availability depending on your account and region. Instagram sends the image to Yoti to estimate your age, not identify you. This is separate from the video selfie used for account recovery and does not replace every document request.
Select the video-selfie option in your age-verification request.
Follow the camera instructions to complete the recording.
Ignore older instructions to ask mutual followers to confirm your age through Social Vouching. Meta removed that option from its test in October 2022; stick to the ID or video-selfie choices shown in your request.
Respond to an underage restriction
Open the age-verification process presented for your deactivated account. Meta says accounts identified as potentially underage must complete this process to prevent deletion.
Provide the proof requested in that process.
In Australia, if you are 16 or older and were incorrectly restricted as underage, select the age-confirmation option associated with the restriction notice.
Complete that Australian age check through Yoti using a video selfie or government-issued ID.
Follow the instructions attached to your restriction notice, since age checks and their availability vary by country.
Recover an account with a video selfie
A recovery video selfie helps confirm ownership of an account containing photos of you.
Record the requested video selfie, turning your head as Instagram directs.
Submit the recording through the recovery process. You won't have access to the account while Instagram reviews it, and Instagram says the video is never visible on Instagram and is deleted within 30 days.
Monitor the secure email address you supplied during recovery for Instagram's result.
Use the emailed password-reset link if Instagram approves your submission.
After an unsuccessful result, check the email for an offer to try again. Instagram does not guarantee another attempt or unlimited submissions.
Return to the Instagram app if Instagram offers another attempt.
Resubmit your video selfie through that recovery request.
Complete the ID check for Meta Verified enrollment
For a Meta Verified subscription you initiated, keep the identity check within that enrollment process.
- 1.Continue your Meta Verified application for the eligible personal or creator account.
- 2.Supply government-issued ID when requested, meeting any requirement shown for it to match the applying profile's name and photo.
- 3.Complete the selfie video if your enrollment process requests one. This additional check applies in selected regions.
Get help when you cannot complete the request
On iOS or Android where the Meta AI support assistant is available, open Settings and Activity > More Info and Support.
Access the support assistant.
Describe the verification request or submission problem. The assistant helps with account issues, but Meta does not promise it can approve your ID or remove the requirement.
For desktop help in supported regions, open the Instagram Help Center.
Access its support assistant where available. Logged-out assistance depends on rollout and case eligibility.
Describe your ID-verification issue in the chat.
Use Instagram's centralized support hub to report the account issue when your account has access to it.
If your existing Meta Verified subscription includes enhanced support, contact support through the chat or email benefit supplied with your subscription. Enhanced support is not available to every subscriber and does not guarantee an overridden ID decision.
Use the timing and notifications stated for your specific process; no single review deadline applies to every ID request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an ID request mean my Instagram account was hacked?
No. An ID request alone does not establish that your account was hacked or that you did something wrong.
Can I refuse an Instagram recovery video selfie?
Yes, but Instagram warns that declining to confirm your identity this way risks losing access to the account. It does not promise an alternative or bypass.
Can a phone setting or browser extension bypass Instagram verification?
Meta's official help documents no bypass through a phone setting, hardware shortcut, browser extension, or companion app. These do not replace the verification process presented for your account.
Why do some instructions mention Accounts Center while my account shows Meta Account?
Meta announced a gradual, year-long transition from Accounts Center to Meta Account in April 2026. Both experiences exist during the rollout, so a single Accounts Center path does not apply to every account.