YouTube’s AI-powered age verification is back — here’s what that means for you

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

AI-age verification is undoubtedly annoying, especially when it decides we're lying about our age. Unfortunately, YouTube's version is back and is once again causing issues.

YouTube first announced that it would be introducing an AI-backed verification system in July. However, we started to see users complain about the feature in September. It looks like some of the issues with the AI falsely restricting certain channels are still a factor.

Youtube account verification screens — (Image credit: left image: user bobbahuey, right image: user trexiball)

We have seen several Reddit posts complaining about their accounts being restricted recently. One user, TREXIBALL, complained that the AI had flagged their account as soon as they turned 18. Another user, bobbahuey, noted that they had been using their account for 10+ years, but had only recently been asked to verify they were an adult.

On one hand, there's an argument that it's easy to solve the problem by simply verifying your age. However, considering YouTube's recent history, users may be cautious about supplying personal information. You can use the selfie feature, but that doesn't always work for everyone.

What does being age-restricted mean?

The YouTube logo appears on a phone on top of a keyboard

(Image credit: SOPA Images / Getty Images)

If your account is restricted, then the most noticeable issue is that you’ll be blocked from viewing age-restricted content. On top of that, any advertisements you see will be non-personalized.

While YouTube’s ads are certainly a pain, it’s seemingly worse when they have nothing to do with you. Not only that, YouTube will also minimize any recommendations with content that could be problematic if viewed multiple times.

On top of that, YouTube will activate its digital well-being tools by default, including reminders to take a break, as well as bedtime reminders. YouTube will also show reminders about privacy when users try to upload any new content.

The content that you do upload will also be set to private by default, and the ability to earn from gifts on vertical live streams will be heavily restricted.

Let us know if you’ve found that your account has been age-restricted and what you have done to solve the problem.

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Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.

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What does being age-restricted mean?

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