San Francisco, Dec 5 (IANS): Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram will now ask new users for their date of birth when an account is created.

Previously, Instagram users were required to confirm they were ages 13 or older when signing up, but they didn't have to provide an exact birthday.

The new addition is Instagram's attempt to better protect young users and provide a ‘more age-appropriate experience overall'.

"According to our Terms of Use, you must be at least 13-years old to have an account in most countries. Asking for this information will help prevent underage people from joining Instagram, help us keep young people safer and enable more age-appropriate experiences overall. Your birthday will not be visible to others on Instagram, but you'll be able to see it when viewing your own private account information," the company said a statement on Wednesday.

The firm noted that it will pull birthdates from Facebook for user's who have connected their profile and editing your birth date on Facebook will do the same on Instagram.

For those who do not have a Facebook account, they can add or edit their date of birth directly on Instagram.

Additionally, Instagram is also preparing a new feature to prevent strangers from sliding into your direct messages.

Users will soon be able to restrict new messages from only people and groups they follow. The feature will arrive in the coming weeks.