Instagram video identification system fails, accepts Barbie doll as a real human

Instagram has long been struggling with fake profiles and bot accounts. A fake account on Instagram contains fake information and credentials and can be used by bad actors to spam, mislead or trouble other users on the platform. On the other hand, bot accounts are computer generated accounts that do not belong to an actual user on the platform. Most recently, Instagram has come with a way for tackling this issue - video selfies. 

In a new way to verify the identity of users, Instagram has been reportedly asking for video selfies from new users joining the platform. A video selfie consists of clicking pictures of one's face from multiple angles to help the AI confirm that a user is a real person. Instagram asks new users to click video selfies during the process of account creation. While the method looks like an effective tool against fake profiles and bot accounts on the platform, it is not quite mature yet. 

Instagram video identification algorithm fails

According to Alexander Chalkidis, a YouTube user, Instagram recognised a Barbie doll as a person during the account creation procedure. In the one minute and seven-second long video, Chalkidis holds a Barbie doll in front of the front camera on the smartphone while verifying for an Instagram account. Surprisingly, the application accepted Barbie as a real user and carried on with the account creation process. The video is attached at the bottom. 

It is important to note that Instagram launched a similar feature last year, where users were asked to verify themselves with the help of a video selfie. As the update rolled out, multiple users reported issues with the identification system in the application and its inability to identify users. Hence, Instagram took down the video identification procedure for quite some time and now it has released it again. 

From what it looks like, the Instagram video selfie user detection algorithm is not fully developed yet, as it is not able to differentiate between a doll and a real person. In retrospect, front-camera based face unlocking features have also failed on many smartphones as they have been fooled with two-dimensional photographs. Currently, the most advanced facial recognition system on a readily available smartphone is the iPhone, which uses a dot projector to map several tracking points on a user's face.