Facebook asking you to confirm the identity on your account for no reason may seem irritating. However, do you know it can be a sign of suspicious activity or a breach of your account?
According to Facebook, users need to confirm their identity “so that we don’t let anyone into your account except for you.”
Hence, this is a security measure that is helpful to prevent unauthorized access to your FB account. And if you get this message, consider there is something wrong.
Though you may find the need to identify yourself quite irritating in some situations, it is still the best protection you have.
Furthermore, Meta also uses this idea for Instagram and WhatsApp besides Facebook. For example, to recover a disabled Instagram account, you must provide your ID proof to the support team.
Anyway, in this article, we will teach you the reasons behind Facebook asking to confirm identity and a few methods to deal with them. If interested, you can also learn to add frames to your Facebook Profile Picture.
Table of Contents
Importance of Confirming Your Real Identity on Facebook
There is various importance to confirming identity on Facebook. Not only does it prevent misuse of your account, but it will also open other best features for you.
If you are using FB as a medium to earn a living or using the Marketplace feature, identifying yourself is necessary. Once you remember, it will increase your trustworthiness among the followers.
Remember, nobody will believe whatever you say or your product without knowing the real you. Once you confirm your identity, the authenticity of your account will increase.
Since Facebook currently allows users to turn on Professional mode on their Profile, confirming real identity is more important than ever.
Overall, the importance of identifying the real self on FB lies in account security and social media professionalism.
Possible Reasons for Facebook Asking to Confirm Identity
There are many possible reasons for Facebook keep asking you to confirm your identity. Most of them are related to the security of your account and are easily solvable.
Remember that simply getting a prompt from Facebook to identify is not a sign of something bad. Sometimes, you may get them due to technical errors or for regular checkups. So, you don’t need to worry about your account just because you get such notifications.
Anyway, whatever the case, knowing the reason behind it beforehand can be beneficial for urgent situations. Hence, the following are the reasons why Facebook is suddenly asking you to confirm your identity.
1. Viral or High Reach Profiles
This reason is not for everyone. Facebook has a preventive measure for every official and high-reach Profile.
This means if you are a celebrity, popular, or your content is viral and has a very high reach among users; Facebook will ask you to identify yourself.
As per the Facebook blog, every high-reach Profile should identify itself to prevent fraud and identity theft. So, if you are also in this category, you might get this kind of notification from Facebook.
2. Suspicious Activity on Your Account
Since Facebook takes the user’s privacy seriously, it will always ask you to identify yourself if there is any suspicious activity on your account.
Suspicious activity refers to login attempts from unknown locations, continuous failure of login attempts, and any other unusual activity in your account.
For example, if you use unofficial third-party apps to increase likes or for any other reason, there is a high chance FB may ask you to identify yourself.
3. Unusual Login Attempt
Sometimes your device may malfunction, the internet may not work, or you may not be able to log in to your account due to some technical error.
In such cases, if you try to log in multiple times, Facebook may find it unusual and ask you to identify yourself.
This is a security mechanism to protect your account. So, you should consider changing the password in case such things happen.
4. Violation of Facebook Policies
Most of the time, Facebook locks your account if you violate their community guidelines and policies. This includes posting spammy content, promoting inappropriate posts, etc.
If users violate such policies, Facebook will disable their accounts and ask for their identification in the recovery process.
Remember, you can still recover your disabled FB account if you have unintentionally violated such policies.
5. Security Measures Against Fraud
The main point for identity verification is to find out that you are the one using your account and not anybody else. So, when Facebook asks you to confirm your identity, it is automatically preventing your account from misuse and fraud.
6. Protecting from Spam and Fake Accounts
Nowadays, there is no lack of bots and spam on social media platforms. Any person can easily set a program to create a larger number of FB accounts or send spam.
Hence, identity verification is a protective measure from Facebook to ensure that behind an account, there is a living person and not a bot.
7. Legal Requirements
Some situations demand users to identify themselves for legal reasons. Popular celebrities, official businesses, and all the other activities as per FB policies will require your identification to operate normally.
What to do if Facebook Asks Me to Confirm My Identity?
The identity verification process from Facebook is a way to secure your account from malicious uses. So, there are a few points you need to consider if FB asks you to identify.
1. Read the Notification
The first thing you must do in this situation is to find out the reason behind Facebook asking you to confirm your identity. So, read the prompt from FB and look for why it is requested.
Also, try to log in to your account and see if you can do so without confirming your identity. Remember, in most cases, you can’t sign in to your account unless you identify yourself.
2. Choose an Identification Method
Not all situation requires you to provide a government ID for security verification. Hence, choose one which you find easier. They can be your current password, date of birth, security question, and related ID.
3. Follow the On-screen Instructions
Facebook always gives you step by step process for every identification method. So, read such instructions carefully on your account and provide original documents and info to avoid encountering problems.
4. Wait Patiently
It may take time for FB to identify your account. So, don’t be impulsive and wait patiently for a verification message. Don’t spam many verification requests at a time.
5. Quickly Respond
You need to be always ready to provide other information to Facebook at any time. So, check your email regularly and quickly respond if there is any question regarding your account. Finally, remember to change your account password once you recover your account.
How to Confirm Identity on Facebook?
Now you know what to do if Facebook asks you to confirm your identity, let’s learn the step-by-step process below.
1. First, open the FB account and tap the “Continue” button on the identify prompt confirmation page.
2. On the next page, you can choose a security check method between “Approve your login from another phone” and “Get code sent to your phone.”
The first option lets you log in to your account with the help of another device, and the second one sends you a unique code in your phone number. You can try each method to see if they work.
3. If you are having trouble signing in to your account, then you will need to identify yourself in another way.
For this, select the first option from above and press the “Confirm identity in another way” option below.
After doing this, Facebook will ask for you to upload your Photo ID for verification. Tap “Continue,” and you will see instructions about what kind of ID is necessary for verification.
For this, you can use your Passport, Driver’s license, Marriage certificate, and National ID card. Once you upload them, tap the “Continue” button below.
4. Finally, provide a unique email address not connected to your FB account on the next page. Once you finish this process, FB will start the verification process.
Now, all you need to do is to wait for the message from FB. Hence, check your email regularly for the recovery link and get back to your FB account. Furthermore, don’t forget to change your password immediately to further secure it.
FAQs
Since you cannot log in to your account without identifying yourself, your account will be disabled automatically. Additionally, to avoid further security problems, you should immediately identify your account once you receive such a request.
There is no fixed time for the identity confirmation process from FB. Depending on the situation, it may take from a few days to weeks.
No, you should never use a fake name or identity on Facebook. Since using such things is against the policy, FB may permanently ban your account.
According to Facebook, your identity and information are strictly confidential and only used when necessary. Hence, you don’t need to worry about misuse of them in any way.
Final Thought
In conclusion, there are many reasons Facebook may ask you to confirm your identity. Most of them are related to the security of your account, and you should always take them seriously if you encounter such issues.
Find the reason why you are getting such prompts and correct the mistakes in time. Additionally, always change the password to a unique and strong one after recovering your account.
Overall, we hope this article is helpful in your predicament. If you have time, you can also learn to rotate a picture on Facebook.
