Why Facebook wants you to enter your birthday information 
Given that Facebook is a social networking site, I can’t say I am particularly sensitive about sharing my birthdate on there. After all, a lot of my other personal information is on my Facebook profile. I just choose not to enter my birthdate, whether or not I have to show it on my profile. What bugs me about the request shown in the screenshot below is that it’s rather vague as to why it wants you to enter your birthday information, nor does it give a link for more details.
So I decided to ask:
Please tell me why it is a “security measure” that I enter my birthdate into Facebook.
And this is “their” reply:
For the security of yourself and our other users, we need to verify that you are old enough to use the site. Additionally, there are certain age requirements for particular networks so that the right users are associating with the right network. No information that you provide to Facebook will be distributed or used in any way. Let me know if you have any other questions.
So… yeah. In case you’re wondering, there’s your answer. There are other reasons why they like to have your birthdate, such as showing you ads tailored to your age group.
I still won’t enter my birthday information, partly because I’m stubborn.
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February 2nd, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Deena says:
Hrmm… how effective is that REALLY going to be in warding off pre-teens…
May 13th, 2007 at 8:31 am
man says:
just give em a fake birth date.. according to facebook i am 82 years old
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:51 am
Jim says:
I’m not sure why anyone would consider their birthdate to be sensitive information. I’ve absolutely zero problems with giving out my birthdate to anyone who wants it. It is, after all, already a matter of public record. Now, if they want my Social Security Number, that they have to have a good reason to acquire before I’ll share it. Birthdate just seems like a silly thing to rebel on.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:54 am
Peter says:
You’re right, it is a bit silly. Rebels are often silly
January 4th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Emil Sit » A tale of Facebook: privacy and community says:
[...] a long time, I simply ignored Facebook’s requirement that you enter your birthday “as a security measure.” How can Facebook knowing your [...]
March 5th, 2008 at 4:32 am
Phoenix says:
I think it is so you can reset your password. They collect information like that so that they can verify who you are later. lol.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Juan Carlos says:
Shutup Just make it up DUH
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:35 am
kiko says:
Birthdate is sensitive information too. if a hacker know your birthday, it's one useful info when resetting password, or validating your infos like in credit card. It's like filling up jigsaw puzzle pieces one at a time. If you are concern, give a fake birthday but close enough to the real one.
December 9th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Syakira says:
Most likely for statistics and marketing purposes, what else ?
January 31st, 2009 at 6:29 pm
nunya says:
Why would I want anybody verifying who I am? We have no idea what their database will be used for in the future
February 4th, 2009 at 5:48 am
ELLETEA says:
Most people are like sheep – they follow dumbly and blindly. Even on Facebook you still have the control to NOT publish your birthday – you can…omg! LIE — As for profile tidbits — anyone who knows you already knows what you like or don't like — that part is complete fluff — and again it links to marketing…Facebook is about marketing, making money for advertisers and for Facebook. Facebook is a good tool to connect with friends, and has by now toppled websites like "Classmates.com" because it's not fee based -Anyways DON"T BE A SHEEP! Don't give them your "real" birthday, and if you are a Sheep, then for pete's sake don't publish your full birthday with the year for everyone to see. There's lots of stuff on Google about how to keep yourself safe and secure on Facebook and still have fun. Just be smart about it. ELLETEA
April 28th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Kamen says:
Just because they ask the question does not mean you have to answer it… too many people think they have to fill in all the blanks. With identity theft on the rise, its better to not put stuff in there. Also, any privacy policy is only as good as today, does not include tomorrow because if Yahoo buys them, they get the data and they are very open about how non-private your data is, no matter what the previous owners promised.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Bill Borden says:
Identity thieves use your birth date to steal your identity. When I was in the mortgage business I was able to run credit reports on people even if I accidentally entered the wrong social security number, as long as I had the correct birthday.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
slemons says:
They want your exact birthdate because their advertisers think users fall into nice neat little "Life Stages." So, if you're 50, you're going to be presented ads for polyester leisure suits sold by Sears and if you're 16 you'll be presented ads for hip surfer clothes at Hollister. Never mind most 40s & 50s I know shop at Hollister & A&F. You'll also be served up more offensive age-stereotyped ads. AARP memberships to 40s and 50s and Clearasil for teens and 20s. Unfortunately, we have not fit into these nice neat little life stages since the 1960s. But there is a correct way to ask this question: "What age group do you most identify with?" This allows 50s to say they identify with 35s and teens to say they identify with 20s, etc.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
lex says:
it is, as you say, crap.
December 21st, 2009 at 7:20 am
mary says:
If all they need is to market and set age appropriate sites, then all they need is the year you were born, the ONLY reason they could have is asking because complete data is more valuable & at some point in the future it could mean money. The motivation behind everything in business.
December 21st, 2009 at 4:40 pm
luvbugz says:
yeah it is stupid to rebel bout ur birthday and facebook. just give em a fake one. like really poeple? ohh and richard i think your cute! miss u richard! <3 hope u dump charity soon ofr me! <3
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:54 am
Brandon says:
Giving your REAL birthday is NOT WISE! Everyone knows that your real birthday can be used to pull all sorts of background information that you may or may not want to share and your birthday is NOT easily accessed via public records if no one knows it otherwise. It is also used for a variety of security measures and the only person who'd want your B-day online other than friends would be those who want to do you harm. DO NOT GIVE YOUR REAL B-DAY ONLINE! It is 2nd only to your SS # in terms of your privacy.
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:53 am
Jessica mckeegan says:
oh my god i am so so pissed off i put in my birthday 3 times and i am nearly 21 and it kept asking me and one time i put it as 98 instead of 89 and it wont let me on my log in!!!!! Grrrrrrrrr
January 13th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Trudy George says:
I have a 10 year old grandaughter whose parents apparently are not monitering her or her 13 yr. old sisters activity on the net. My 10 yr olds info reads: looking for "men"….does this not make her a perfect target for predators?? I think facebook needs to make some kind of safer rules applicable to the users.
January 17th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Mike says:
I used to put in my birthday everywhere. I'm not so worried about identity theft on these kinds of sites like Facebook. But now I think that there's a lot of information that these sites take only for the purpose of getting the information because they might be able to use it for marketing (read: spam). No thank you!
January 31st, 2010 at 8:05 am
Praise says:
y dnt u jst put ur birthdate, cause it's nt a big deal jst 2 put ur age.
u no wat it's jst wasting ur time being in facebook. cause dey want u 2 put ur birthdate. if u dt no facebook 4 u.
dat hw it's works sorry.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Dexa says:
Hi,
I need help,,, I did not tell myreal birthday at facebook and when i
use my iphone and access the FB for the first time it ask me my
birthday and I dont remmber what I put in now I cannot open
my FB account even in my own computer it ask me the birthdate I
have put in when I sign up which I dont remember.. PLS HELP!!